Not So Great Expections
by That Anon Writer
Summary: Hinata's motives for enrolling into an all boys academy were questionable at best, but once she's there, it's not what she expected. Her friends just decided to hop along for the ride. And the school? Well, it has a few secrets of its own. HIATUS.
1. For the Sake of Education

**A/N: Okay, so this is my first Naruto fanfic. Yeah, that's it. Just a note, though, for the people who might be expecting it—as I usually am whenever reading these high school AUs—some of the pairings in this one may not be the typical ones. Just thought I'd warn everyone now in case that's what you're looking for. Seeing as the story takes place in an All Boys academy, you can probably expect a bit of yaoi, too. Nothing explicit, given the rating for this story is at T, so don't expect that either. **

**With all of that covered, I think it's safe to say that I can start now.**

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><p><em>Chapter One: For the Sake of Education<em>

"Are you sure about this, Hinata?" The aforementioned, pale-eyed girl turned abruptly towards her pinkette friend. "We don't have to go through with it if you don't want to anymore, we'll understand." Three other girls, a blonde, a dirty blonde, and a brunette, nodded their agreement from beside her, smiling. The girl named Hinata just shook her head frantically, blushing.

"I-it's okay, you g-guys. I…I really want to go through with this," Hinata finished as defiantly as her soft voice could sound. Sakura, the pinkette, widened her grin before nodding in confirmation at her friend's choice. They were all currently sitting in Sakura's mom's car, on their way towards the infamous Konoha All Boys Academy, with the brunette, Tenten, sitting at the far left door; the dirty blonde, Temari, sitting to Tenten's right; the blonde, Ino, sitting to Temari's right; Hinata sitting at the far right door; and Sakura sitting shotgun with her mom at the wheel. It seemed questionable, four girls going to an all-boys academy in order to enroll, but they were decidedly within reason.

The unofficial "leader" of their little posse was Sakura Haruno, the pink-haired, emerald-eyed beauty that, though she lacked the more prominent curves that her blonde-haired friend exhibited, was still able to pull off a well-balanced body type. She was the most intelligent of the five, and despite her appearance, was also very strong. When she was younger, she had issues with herself and lacked a sufficient amount of confidence, but as she grew older and made friends, her self-esteem skyrocketed, and she became headstrong. Dressed in her black V-neck shirt, red-and-white sleeveless vest, and black biker shorts, she was something of an eye-catcher.

The second official member of their group was Ino Yamanaka. Her mother ran a local flower shop, and through working regularly on weekends and free time after school, Ino grew to love flowers and their symbolism as much as her mother did. She had blonde hair tied into a high ponytail and baby blue eyes that shined with confidence and slight mischievousness. Her skin was fair, and her hourglass figure brought boys swarming to her almost on a daily basis. Though she dressed in a way that made people assume she was something of a slut, she was really only somewhere between being flirtatious and being an "innocent" seductress. Truly, she had never gone that far in any of her relationships, and for this, her hope of finding her true love was dampened.

Hinata Hyuuga and Tenten, whose last name was still unknown, were the third and fourth members. Tenten was something of a tomboy, her hair in buns and her clothing usually a mix between less feminine women's clothes and men's clothes. She took martial arts, mainly those that used weapons, and was someone to watch out for in case she became angry. Out of the group, she was the most athletic, playing a variety of sports, though she wasn't the captain of any of them.

Hinata, on the other hand, was the most timid out of their entire group, and at their old school, the entire school. She had issues with stuttering, even when she wasn't nervous, and rarely spoke her opinions out loud unless prompted. However, though her demeanor was shy, she was really very strong-willed. She had been put down most of her life, had her self-esteem targeted more times than all of them could count, and she managed to get through okay. She was not the strongest, nor the smartest—though she was a close second to Sakura—or even the prettiest, but she was like an invisible glue that held the group together with her peaceful ways.

Temari, the final member to join, was the oldest of the five, and also one of the bigger threats. She had been captain of a few sports teams at her school in Suna, but when she moved to Konoha, she opted not to join any in an attempt to improve upon her schoolwork. She was the bully repellant, threatening anyone who tried to hurt her friends in any way, and in turn, they offered her their friendship, something Temari found rare. She had joined most recently, having only lived in Konoha for a year, and she had told her friends about her two brothers, both of whom went to Konoha All Boys Academy, their current location. This piece of information had sparked an idea in their shy friend.

It was a well-known fact in their little group that Hinata never asked for much. She hardly spoke up, and when she did, they would all listen attentively. On the first day of their summer break, they had all met up at the park to enjoy the first day of their three month freedom period, and Hinata had declared her idea for them. Konoha High School was a mediocre school; the education was about average, the students were mostly rather dull, and there was almost no excitement year-round. They had all claimed to have suffered through a prison of a high school, being stuck in such a boring place, and that was what really had Hinata's cognitive processes going.

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><p><em>FLASHBACK<em>

_ "Freedom at last!" Tenten shouted to the open air as Hinata, standing next to her, giggled at her widespread arms, as if she were embracing the sky. Sakura and Ino were off buying ice cream for the group, and Temari was sitting on a bench looking out at a duck pond. _

_ "I-it f-feels nice, doesn't it?" Hinata asked in return, staring up at the clear skies, something she found to be a good omen. Stretching her limbs, Tenten made a sound of hearty agreement, glancing over at where Sakura and Ino were walking back to their location. _

_ "Yeah, it feels awesome to be out of that boring ass school!" Ino cried, making a faux disgusted face. The others laughed in amusement at her dramatics, something they knew Ino to do often. Suddenly, Temari frowned._

_ "That's dandy and everything, but you know, we have to go back next year." There were cries of disappointment and some of slightly exaggerated agony as they realized the truth in her words. _

_ "Don't remind us! This is a good reason why we need to enjoy our summer while we have it," Sakura pointed out. The others nodded in complete agreement. Suddenly, Hinata felt an idea coming to mind. The other girls noticed her changing facial expressions, from amusement, to worry, to fear, then to defiance._

_ "Hinata-chan? Is something wrong?" Sakura asked, which made Hinata shake her head._

_ "N-no. I w-was just wondering s-something. Temari-chan, y-you said your b-brothers went to K-Konoha All B-Boys Academy, right?" Temari nodded at this, a look of confusion washing over her face._

_ "Yeah, what about it?"_

_ "It's j-just…wh-what if w-we enrolled there…? I h-heard their education w-was the b-best in K-Konoha…" Hinata trailed off, and Ino's face lit up suddenly._

_ "And if we went, we'd be around a bunch of hot guys!" The other girls rolled their eyes playfully at that comment, having already half-expected it from her. Sakura rubbed her chin thoughtfully, rolling the idea around in her mind. She made loud thinking noises as the members of the posse waited anxiously for her answer. Ten seconds passed, then thirty, and then something that felt like an eternity before Sakura finally smiled._

_ "I think it's a good idea. I mean, what do we have to lose?" Before the other girls could cheer, Temari made a snorting sound._

_ "Only your virginity when they realize we're all girls and they decide to molest us."_

_ "Then we should go undercover as guys! We have to, anyway, since we can't get in unless we're boys. It's, after all, an _All Boys_ academy," Tenten noted. The others nodded at the idea, except Temari, who was still a bit skeptical about the whole thing, but decided to be there with them in case something did happen and they needed help. Suddenly, a thought occurred to them. They turned towards the shy member of their team, confusion bordering on suspicion as plain as day across their individual faces._

_"Why would _you_ want to join? You don't seem like the type to hate school, no matter which it is, and you're too much of a goodie two-shoes to consider lying to an entire campus of people," Temari asked, her suspicion clearest out of all of them. It was true, Hinata was much too reserved and shy to find herself complaining about where she was educated, especially with her level of appreciation for the little things, and for as long as any of them could remember, Hinata had never done, or even _thought_ of doing, anything that would go against rules._

_"I...I just think i-it would be a n-nice ch-change in scenery...Y-you know, a br-breath of fresh a-air," the shy girl stuttered out. The other four still looked mighty suspicious, and the way Hinata was fidgeting, it only raised more questions. They all had a hint, even a tiny one, that Hinata was lying-though for what reason, they could not fathom-but in all of their time in knowing her, they had not known her to lie. _Ever_. There was a chorus of "hmm"-ing before Sakura sighed, allowing her doubts to drop. Even if Hinata was lying to them, Sakura had a feeling that it was for a good reason. Out of all of them, even herself, she expected Hinata would need a good reason before doing something so rash._

_"Hinata, I'm not entirely convinced, to be completely honest, but whatever your reason is, I'm sure it's good. Right, girls?" From behind her, heads nodded in agreement. The odd tension in the air cleared, and Tenten let out a cheerful cry._

_ "That settles it, then! We're enrolling in Konoha All Boys Academy!"_

_END FLASHBACK_

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><p>Lost in her memory, Hinata didn't even realize the car had stopped moving and that the other girls were waiting for her to get out of the car.<p>

"Hina-chan, we're here," Sakura's mother called affectionately to the dazed girl. Flustering at holding up the group, Hinata quickly scrambled out of the vehicle before closing the door soundly behind her. From the driver's seat, Sakura's mom wished them all good luck before speeding away to her job on the other side of town. They waved until the car was out of sight before staring up at the large campus before them. Truly, Konoha Academy was one of the more prestigious buildings in the city. Before them was the large office building where they were to meet the headmaster of the school, to the left of that building was what they could assume was the actual school building where the classrooms were located, and to the right of the office was a building that looked like a dormitory. They all inhaled and then exhaled deeply before heading towards the office building. Once they were at the door, they shifted routes to the right, out of the door's path. Sakura dropped a backpack on the floor, the same one she used to carry all of her belongings in, and unzipped it to reveal a number of disguises for them to use.

"Hinata-chan, since you have short hair, I'll just give you this baseball cap and this hoodie to hide your chest. Tenten, I think you're fine, but you may need to put a hat or bandana on for the hair. Ino, you need these baggy clothes to hide any curves and you need to pull all of our hair back into a ponytail and try to hide it in your collar. Temari…you might need a full-on disguise. We need to hurry so we can enroll, get our dorms assigned, and try to settle in. Luckily, school doesn't start until tomorrow here, so we'll have time to adjust. Everyone okay with the plan?" There were collective nods towards Sakura as she threw the disguises at each recipient, putting on her own before zipping her pack back up and making sure her team looked enough like boys to pass. She surveyed them all over once before deciding they were good enough. With a loud breath, she pulled at the front door to the office and held it open for the others.

The inside of the office building was crisp and neat, with a secretarial desk right at the front and a door to their left that said "Headmaster" on a golden plaque. There were some fashionable flowers and cacti placed around the room, and sitting at the desk before them was a, surprisingly, a woman wearing a neatly pressed office suit and skirt, holding what looked like a pig in her arms as she did paperwork. At the sound of a small bell on the door, she looked up quickly, noticing the oddly dressed "boys" standing at the front door.

"New students?" The woman asked to them, which earned her a few out-of-sync nods. She nodded back to them politely. "The headmaster is in the door to your left. She'll get you through all of the paperwork, and then assign you dorm rooms." The small group took a detour to their left, entering the separate office with a small click of the door. To their surprise, once again, a blonde, busty woman sat in the headmaster's seat, and had a look of irritation on her face, as if she was trying to burn a hole through the paperwork with her eyes. She looked up, her facial expression changing.

"Shizune, wha—oh, new students?" She looked at the bunch with a critical eye, as though there was something off about them. The five began sweating under the scrutiny, not used to such a burning gaze. Then again, they expected this from a woman who practically ran an institution full of nothing but boys.

"W-we're here to enroll in the academy," Sakura started, trying her hardest not to break under the pressure. The headmistress raised an eyebrow at that, her lips tugging upwards at the ends only slightly.

"Oh really? Is there anything you'd like to tell me about yourselves before I get you through all the introductions?" The smug look on her face was enough to have them breaking out in a whole new wave of sweating. She, however, saved them the chance to speak. "Actually, I don't feel like hearing any excuses today. Why are you girls trying to get into an all boys academy?" Sakura sighed, having a feeling that she already knew. She decided not to try and beat around the bush, seeing as though it wasn't any use.

"We wanted to enroll here because this school has the best academics in Konoha, and honestly, our old high school was boring. The recreational programs here aren't bad, either." She hoped the excuse was good enough.

"Oh? Are you sure you want to enroll here? As you might already know, an _all boys academy_ isn't exactly the safest environment for young ladies. Especially since all students are expected to stay in the dormitories, and those places have no supervision."

"No supervision?" Ino asked incredulously. The others were shocked as well. The headmistress just laughed.

"Our school, though it's the best in Konoha, is underfunded and understaffed. We don't have enough money to pay for someone to supervise the boy's dorms. The school isn't held responsible for anything they do in there, either. It's your choice if you still want to enroll, I'm really not going to stop you anyway, but you need to make sure this is what you want. There's no turning back after you've entered." The five girls, dressed as boys, turned to each other and had a silent, telepathic conversation. They stood for minutes, though it felt like hours, before they reached a conclusion.

"We'll do it," Sakura answered for them, an adamant expression on her face. As if to support their decision, the others nodded defiantly as well. The headmistress grinned at their display of confidence, stamping blank forms on her desk. She held the forms out for them, revealing them to be personal information forms.

"My approval. You just need to fill them out and return them to Shizune. Remember to get your parent to sign it. Have a nice stay here, and my name is Tsunade. Your dorm rooms and floors should be on the forms."

* * *

><p>"I can't believe we made it in!" Sakura cried out in relief as they exited the office building and made their way to the dorms.<p>

"Yeah, that was really nerve-wracking just now. She's pretty awesome for running this school," Tenten commented, looking up and down at the form in her hand.

"I'll say! By the way, what dorms are you guys in? I'm on the tenth floor, room 1021," Ino breathed out. She stretched her muscles, which had tensed sometime during their enrollment process. She couldn't deny her admiration for the woman, though. She was definitely tough.

"I have room G507 on the eleventh floor," Tenten answered.

"S671 on the sixth floor for me," was Temari's answer.

"I-I got th-the eighth floor, r-room 863," Hinata added in, frowning at the fact that they were on separate floors.

"Seventh floor, room 775," was the final answer from Sakura. "This sucks, we're all on different floors scattered around the building."

"Well, there's no turning back now. We'll find secret routes to each other's rooms later. We need to get to know our roommates, too," Tenten stated, now frowning. She didn't like the idea of having to share a dorm, but neither did the other four.

"I hope mine aren't total perverts," Ino and Sakura said at the same time. They all shared a laugh at that, though they were all hoping for the same thing. Once they were in front of the dorm buildings front doors, which were made from steel and stood imposingly before them, they all took a deep breath.

"Time to welcome our new home for the next year or so," Sakura said, though her tone was light rather than grave. Negativity would only make it worse on them later. There was a round of mumbled encouraging words to each other before they reached out to the door handle…

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><p>Headmistress Tsunade stretched her sore muscles from being in a desk, hunched over paperwork all day. She gave a satisfied sigh when some of her bones cracked and the tension in her body lifted slightly. Her office door opened to reveal Shizen and her pig, Ton-Ton, with a calendar in hand.<p>

"Tsunade-sama? Are the bus preparations ready for tomorrow's baseball game against Shinobi High School?"

"Huh? Oh, right, that. I scheduled the bus to come pick up our baseball team already. I think the boys are having their own little pep rally in the dorms today before the big game," Tsunade answered Shizune, who nodded and exited, resuming whatever work she was doing before she had entered. Stretching one more time before returning to her paperwork, Tsunade came upon a sudden realization.

"…Did I mention to those girls that they were having a dorm pep rally today?"

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><p>…and the door suddenly opened on its own. Frozen with her arm reaching towards the handle, Sakura looked up at the person opening the door, along with the others. The door stopped midway between being opened and closed, the person leaving the dorms stopping to look at the group waiting to enter. In their silence, despite the loud crashing sounds and yelling from behind the door, the girls drank in the appearance of the exiting boy. He was tall, at least taller than they were, and he had dark hair, though it was hard to see from under what looked like a black baseball cap—with school insignia—and a faded green hoodie. Perched on his pale face were a pair of round sunglasses that covered his eyes from view. He wore a black T-shirt that wasn't loose, but wasn't tight under his faded hoodie, revealing a somewhat muscular build. He wore black uniform pants, one hand jammed inside his pants pocket. His other hand was busy pushing the door open.<p>

There were no reactions from either side for a few seconds before the boy raised his eyebrows and continued to open the door, stepping out and holding it open for them. He muttered a very quiet apology, which revealed his voice to be deep and smooth, and waited for them to pull themselves back together. Sakura snapped out of her stupor first, taking hold of the door in his place with a grateful smile.

"Oh, thanks a lot!" She said quickly and a little louder than normal, causing the others to jump out of their own worlds. They expected the boy to walk away after that, but were surprised to see him looking at them, at least they thought he was looking at them through his glasses, intently. "Umm...?" They looked skeptically at him.

"I have never seen you before," he said simply. They blushed slightly, but tried to hide it.

"Oh, we're new here," Tenten answered this time, coughing to hide anything incriminating. The mysterious boy raised his eyebrow again at this, though his face was still as stony as ever. Temari decided to jump in this time.

"Think you could show us around?" He paused a moment, before shaking his head no. Before they could ask why, he continued.

"I don't advise being in there at the moment." If anything, his monotonous tone and rumbling voice made the sentence seem more foreboding than normal.

"Wh-why not?" Hinata asked quietly, trying her hardest not to stutter. Not mentioning her shy, girlish voice, her stuttering might give them away.

"Pep rally." At this, Tenten lit up.

"Pep rally? That's awesome! Think it'd be cool if we joined?"

"Suit yourself." He walked away from them silently, heading towards an open field behind the dorms. They watched him leave, then faced each other.

"He was kinda weird," Temari finally commented. The others nodded slightly.

"Yeah, but he's polite. He talks so formally," Sakura added.

"He looked like a drug dealer, seriously," Ino said, shivering at the idea of their dorm having a druggie in it. "Except for the hat, maybe."

"Not much of a talker, either. But who cares! There's a pep rally going on in there, we _need_ to join them!" Tenten cried excitedly, and they all forgot about the hooded boy in an instant. Excitement began to buzz in their ears as they reached for the handle again, this time actually grasping it and tugging. Nothing happened.

"What's th-the m-matter?" Hinata asked quietly. Sakura made a strange face as she pulled at the handle clasped in her right hand.

"…It won't open."

"What do you mean 'it won't open,'? It was open just a second ago!" Ino exclaimed huffily. Sakura muttered something about how she shouldn't have let it close while they were busy talking before attempting to tug at it again with both hands. Using all of her might, she heard the door creak loudly as it dislodged itself from its hold on the other door, suddenly becoming lighter to pull. Once it finally came loose, they all cheered silently at the feat.

"That's one heck of a door," Sakura mumbled, pulling it now with only one hand. "I wonder how he got it to open so easily." However, any other pondering on the matter was quickly silenced as they peered, wide-eyed, at the commotion going on inside the dorm. There seemed to be a cloud of steam billowing through the hall where doors to different rooms were lined up, and within the giant steam cloud were numerous boys running around, some half naked and others completely naked, cheering and screaming their heads off with school baseball caps and baseball uniforms. The girls, as boys, dropped whatever they were holding in shock at the utter chaos behind the giant metal door. The crowd in the celebration didn't seem to take notice of the door opening, nor did they see the people standing outside of it, so the five just slammed the door closed as fast as they possibly could before retreating around the corner of the building they had seen the other boy take refuge to earlier. They panted heavily, trying to catch their breaths and slow their hearts down to a normal rate.

"Holy…"

"That's one hell of a pep rally," Temari said, smirking. She wondered faintly if her brothers were in the pep rally as well. She wouldn't put it past Kankurou, but Gaara was a different story. Hinata just blushed, her face beginning to resemble a cherry as she couldn't quite voice any coherent thoughts.

"How are we supposed to get to our dorms now?" Ino cried exasperatedly, holding her head in her hands. Nobody answered, not quite sure of _how_ to answer. From around the corner, they heard the sound of metal creaking again, and the loud slam of the metal door as footsteps met their ears. There was a loud voice calling, though it was slightly muffled. The voice got closer, suddenly becoming clearer to hear, and they recognized the voice yelling to be rough, but not scratchy, and it seemed to be calling a name.

"_Shino!_ God damn, where the _hell_ did you go? AGHH!" The frustrated boy yelled, now perfectly clear to the girls. The footfalls became quicker and louder, and before they knew it, the boy they assumed to be the owner of the voice came dashing by them at a speed they almost couldn't comprehend. However, before he passed them completely, he stopped, turning to face them as they crouched oddly on the side of the building. He looked at them with a confused look, before grinning.

"New students?" He asked them, his voice somewhat eager. They didn't think they would be able to respond adequately with vocals, so they nodded. "Cool. By the way, did'ja see a guy go by here? He's kinda tall, wears sunglasses, looks like a druggie? Ring a bell?"

"We saw him earlier, but we didn't see where he went," Temari decided to answer. The boy's smile drooped, and they could've sworn his ears did a little, too. After observing him closely, they noticed that compared to the first boy, this one had nice, tanned skin. His brown hair was wild and sticking out in all directions, over, around, and under a headband on his head with the school's symbol on it. He was one of the ones running around half naked, his shirt lost somewhere amidst the celebration. When he had grinned, they noticed his extremely sharp canine teeth. With his bare chest exposed, they noticed his somewhat defined muscles and abs, as well as his medium-large biceps and forearms. He wore a pair of basketball shorts in the school colors, and he gave off a dog-like impression. Suddenly, a sharp smile was back on his face, stretching across.

"You guys wanna look for my friend with me, then? I can show you 'round campus at the same time, it'll be fun," he offered. "My name's Kiba, by the way. Kiba Inuzuka." The girls all looked at each other before coming upon a silent agreement to go with him, if only to benefit from the tour. Or get to know him to see if they had a chance with him.

"My name's Ino…ichi. Inoichi Yamanaka! It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Kiba-kun!" Kiba flushed as the blonde went impossibly close to him. For a moment, Kiba felt afraid for his life, before just grinning and backing away a bit.

"I'm Saku Haruno. Thanks for offering to show us around campus," Sakura said, shaking hands with the boy. He grinned even wider, if it was possible.

"I'm Hi—ashi, Hiashi Hyuuga," Hinata stated quietly, trying to sound more masculine.

"The name's Tenshi," Tenten said, sharing a handshake as well.

"And I'm Temaru." Kiba nodded to all of them before motioning for them to follow him. He led them along the wall until they were in a different part of the campus, one they didn't recognize. Kiba explained each building, gesturing to each one.

"You've already seen the dorms, so over there is the lab building. We only go in there sometimes, but it's pretty much banned. That doesn't mean we don't go in there for fun, though," Kiba snickered. "On that side is the water fountain—don't throw any coins in it or anything, you'll lose money that way—and over there is the office. Next to the office is the huge Academy building where we endure hell for six hours a day. Our school sends us our schedules through our dorm mailboxes, so we don't get them until tomorrow. Or really late tonight. And…I think that pretty much covers campus basics," he finished, pleased with himself. He placed his hands on his hips in a conclusive pose, which only flexed his shoulder and back muscles.

"Let's see…anything else I should tell you guys? Hmm…Oh! First day of school always totally rocks because it's practically free period all day long. If you join me and my friends tomorrow, we're sneaking out of classes to go check out the girls at the all girls camp across that lake behind campus," Kiba told them, grinning like an idiot as he imagined it. "It's really awesome. The girls there are _so hot!_ And I'll be damned if they don't find us sneaking into their camp sexy. Trust me, you'll enjoy it." Unbeknownst to him, the girls were giggling in their minds at the irony of it.

"So, we're looking for your friend, right? The guy in the green hoodie?" Sakura asked, which earned her a nod from Kiba.

"Yeah, that's him. He's a little on the quiet side, and a lot of people find him creepy, but he's a cool guy. Needs to lighten up, though. It's like he's got a stick up his—" And suddenly, a large hand landed roughly on Kiba's shoulder, causing him to freeze.

"Kiba." Nervous chuckling spewed from Kiba's mouth as he tried to move away from the offending hand, finding that he was unable to.

"Oh, Shino! Buddy! I was just looking for you! You can…totally let go now…" After only a moment's pause, the hand came off and went back into the pocket of a hoodie. Kiba let out a small sigh of relief, rubbing his shoulder as he whimpered slightly. Some of the girls giggled lightly at the scene.

"S-so…your name is…Shino?" Hinata asked. He nodded in assent, briefly looking her up and down as if inspecting something. A shiver ran up her spine as she flinched almost imperceptibly.

"So, now that we've all met, let's say we head back to the dorms, huh? I bet'cha you guys haven't found your rooms yet because of the partying, am I right?" They nodded appreciatively before the small group headed back to the large dormitory building. They couldn't tell if the noise level had died down due to the fact that the metal doors seemed to block out all of the noises. Once again, Shino pulled the metal door open to reveal a now mostly empty hallway, save for a few boys lying on the floor, seemingly drunk out of their minds, and a few just standing outside to hang out with their friends. Heads turned and whispering began as the group walked down the hallway to where an elevator was located.

"I didn't think guys did the whole gossip thing…," Ino mumbled as she looked at some of the guys whispering to their friends and pointing, some breaking into laughter. Kiba somehow heard her and laughed.

"You talk about us like you're not one. Besides, ain't no girls here to pick at us for it, so why not? We're all human, and it's one of the more interesting things around here." Kiba tapped at the up button next to the elevator door, waiting on the door to slide open. After about thirty seconds, the door's opened to reveal a boy with a lazy expression on his face and a high, spiky ponytail. He was slouching, with his hands in his pockets and a towel over his shoulder, as he trudged by them.

"Hey, Shikamaru! What're you doing down here?" Kiba greeted cheerfully, earning a sigh from the other boy.

"Changing out towels again…Chouji dirtied this one beyond repair…again. So troublesome…," he said, yawning as he waved his hand slightly before continuing on his way. Kiba waved back, while Shino only exchanged nods with Shikamaru. They stepped into the somewhat rusty elevator compartment, which creaked a little under their combined weight.

"Ahh…maybe it's better if one or two people took the stairs. This elevator's been here since, I dunno, forever and a half, so it's kinda suckish. Just tell me what's the first floor you need."

"I think the closest one we need is the sixth floor, right?" Sakura turned to her friends, who nodded. Kiba nodded, too, then turned and nodded at Shino. Shino stepped out of the elevator and turned towards the nearby door, which had a sign reading "stairs" on it in bold letters. Kiba clicked the button for the fifth floor and then the button to close the elevator doors, causing the doors to slide closed. A short rumbling shook the metal box before it started to move, the strange swinging it was doing wasn't making them feel any better.

"It won't fall, it's cool. I've ridden on this thing like, a million times. Just, watch out for Chouji. If he's on here, try not to go on with him. He's a little on the fat side, but don't say that to his face, or he'll punch your face in," Kiba laughed, causing the others to look worried. The compartment slowed, coming to a halt as a strange sound went off and the doors opened, revealing the hooded boy waiting for their arrival, leaning casually against the wall. The group followed the hallway until they came upon the room Temari was looking for, room S671. Keeping down the nervousness in her stomach, Temari reached for the door handle, grasped the bronze object, and turned it. The door slid open easily, and as it widened, they all peered in to see who her roommates were.


	2. Roommates

**A/N: Second installment. I appreciate any and all readers/reviewers, even if there aren't a lot. Any criticisms are also appreciated, and if there's something bothering you about the story, please let me know. Since I forgot the disclaimer last chapter, I think I'll do it here.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

><p><em>LAST CHAPTER<em>

_The group followed the hallway until they came upon the room Temari was looking for, room S671. Keeping down the nervousness in her stomach, Temari reached for the door handle, grasped the bronze object, and turned it. The door slid open easily, and as it widened, they all peered in to see who her roommates were._

* * *

><p><em>Chapter Two: Roommates<em>

Temari blinked once, twice, and then let out an odd, strangled noise as the two boys in the dorm room turned their heads at the intruder. Three sets of eyes widened as one of the room's occupants jumped to his feet, an accusatory finger pointing at the girl-dressed-as-a-boy.

"Tema—" But before the boy could finish, Temari had jumped into action and clamped a hand over his mouth, glaring at him for all she was worth. He whimpered under the pressure, and zipped his mouth as the girls and Kiba stared, bewildered.

"You guys know each other?" Kiba asked, breaking the ice. Temari and the boy glanced at each other before turning back to the brunette.

"We're related," they said in unison, both of their tones obvious in their lamentation.

"Oh, and him, too," the boy Temari had pounced on said, pointing over at his redheaded associate and, apparently, brother. The girls' eyes widened in realization at who these two boys were, and they had to grin at the pure irony of having Temari land in a dorm room with her two brothers, both of whom were already well-aware that she was female. It seemed like an odd stroke of luck, not having one of their group members hiding her identity within the confines of her room, and even better, she had already lived with both of her brothers for as long as she could remember.

"Well, uh, guys, this is Kankurou," Temari gestured towards the boy with messy brown hair and odd, purple face paint, "and this is Gaara." She pointed over at the redhead, who chose wisely to ignore the attention that was being sent his way. He made a small, grunting noise of consent and acknowledgement. "They're my brothers."

"Yeah, what sh—_he_ said." Temari glared at Kankurou, a look that made him shrink back in fear. Kiba and the others stood awkwardly at the door as the siblings began to bicker about nothing in particular.

"Uh, well, I'll leave you guys to get comfortable, we're gonna continue on, 'kay?" Kiba called hopelessly to the arguing siblings. He shook his head before sighing, corralling the others away from the door, which he shut quietly behind him.

* * *

><p>"What the hell, Temari? Why're you here?" Kankurou growled at his annoyed sister. "This is an <em>all boys<em> school! Last I checked, you're not a boy!" Temari crossed her arms over her chest, frowning at her brother.

"You _would_ check, wouldn't you?" She sneered at him, causing him to take on a mortified expression at the implications. "Besides, what does it matter that I'm here?"

"It matters a lot! There's a _reason_ we decided to go to this hell hole, Temari!" Temari looked absolutely affronted.

"Are you implying that _I'm_ a problem?"

"Yes!" Temari, now growling back at him, decided at that moment to jump him and attempt at landing a fist to his face. He quickly put up his arms to block her hit, trying unsuccessfully to kick her off of him so he could retaliate, only lifting her high enough off of his body to give her a clear opening for a punch to his gut. He groaned in pain as she pummeled at his abdomen and face, but he found some satisfaction in the fact that some of his own punches were landing. He honestly didn't feel bad about hitting his sister, something he knew came from years of constant teasing and nagging from her. He also knew, however, that if they were going to be rooming with one another, they couldn't get into a fight every single time they met up. Temari seemed to get this idea, too, because she ceased in her blows to his body and rolled off, taking in shallow breaths. They both breathed in and out for a long while, catching their breaths and making sure they were calm before exchanging any words. Kankurou was the first to speak.

"I don't take back what I said." Temari could only grin at the statement. Leave it to Kankurou to not admit anything.

"Yeah, whatever." A few moments passed in silence as they lay there, just breathing. Suddenly, Gaara broke the ice.

"Are you two done yet?" Both heads turned towards the cold voice of their youngest sibling. Temari rolled her eyes at him.

"Glad to see you, too, Gaara."

* * *

><p>"Anybody else on this floor?" Kiba asked, looking around at the new faces. They all shook their head, no. "So, where to next?" Sakura quickly pulled out her own slip, grinning.<p>

"Next stop is on the seventh floor." Kiba and Shino shared an odd look. Kiba hesitated for a moment, wondering whether or not he should ask. He decided he might as well.

"Um, can I see what room you have?" Sakura looked at him oddly, but finally gave in and passed her form over to him. He scanned the form, going straight to the location of the room number. His eyes widened and he tried to stifle a laugh. Shino, who had the gist of what Kiba was grinning about, could only shake his head disapprovingly. Nobody noticed, though.

"What is it? Is there something wrong with the room I have?" Sakura asked worriedly, retrieving her form from Kiba's hands. He snorted, then broke into laughter. He attempted to relieve the new arrivals' worried faces by waving his hand in a gesture saying that they had nothing to worry about, but it seemed less than effective. Shino decided to step in, sure that Kiba wasn't about to stop laughing any time soon.

"Dorm room 775 is most well-known for its abundance of sexual tension between its occupants. It is best to steer clear of them."

"Who's them?" Tenten asked, although she was inwardly giggling at Sakura's luck.

"Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto," Kiba answered, his laughing now down to only a few small outbursts every now and then. "The school's biggest playboy and the class clown. The whole damn academy believes they're both probably gay for each other, but nobody wants to say it out loud. I gotta wish you the best of luck, Haruno, because you're gonna need it. And _lots_ of it. They create a warpath wherever they go together, and it pisses the hell out of the teachers and the headmistress. You'll probably be held responsible for keeping them in check, now that you're their unofficial legal guardian from this point onwards." Sakura looked appalled at the sudden responsibility placed into her supposedly capable hands.

"Are you serious?" She managed to choke out, the idea of having to take care of two high school students, both of whom might even be older than her, not at all appealing. Kiba just grinned wolfishly.

"Hey, be lucky you're not a girl. If they decide they can't take out the sexual frustration on each other, or figure it out _manually_—" A few of the girls flushed slightly at the thought, "—then they'll decide to take it out on the closest thing to them with pheromones that they can just dump later, and since you don't leak pheromones like girls, they won't get you." Oh, the irony of the situation was almost too much for Sakura to bear. She groaned into her waiting hands, a few of her friends patting her on the back in sympathy.

"Wait a second. I thought nobody was allowed to leave dorm grounds during the school year. How would they even find a girl to release sexual tension on when they need it?" Tenten asked, realizing the discrepancy. Kiba just jerked his thumb behind him to a window at the end of the hall, facing out towards the lake he had mentioned earlier during their tour of the campus.

"I told'ja about the girl's camp across the lake, right? The one we're gonna sneak out to tomorrow? They go over there. Trust me, they're more than willing, if ya know what I mean," Kiba purred, which came out as more of a disgruntled sound than anything. The girls gave a collective groan, though not without the decency to blush at the implications. Shino decided to save them from delving on the topic.

"If you would like, you may stay with one of your friends for a while. There is no rule about staying in other rooms, as long as it is only for a period of time less than three months. During that time, you will have the chance to get acquainted with them through classes, should you share any with them," came Shino's stoic voice. Sakura only gave a meek noise from behind her hands, considering the idea. Kiba stopped laughing for the moment, finally deciding that they had to get a move on.

"So…skip?" There was a chorus of agreement as the next person to lift their form was none other than Hinata. Kiba gave his signature grin.

"So, Hyuuga, what floor are you on?"

"Um…floor eight." As if by magic, the brunette's eyes lit up, and he swiped the form in his excitement. Hinata flinched when he made the grab, but tried her best to keep herself from letting out even a tiny sound of surprise. At the girls' old school, Hinata's girlish noises were always more recognizable than most, and were sometimes found to be cute in a high-pitched, girly way.

"Awesome! You get to share a room with me and Shino!" Kiba exclaimed, his mood radiating off of him in waves. Hinata wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing, but smiled for the brunette's sake.

"Then…p-please take care of me," she said quietly, bowing her head slightly out of politeness. She was jerked out of her bow when Kiba wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. She tried to hide her three shades of red under the hat's shadow.

"Aw, no need to be so formal, Hyuuga! If you're gonna dorm with us, you've gotta get comfortable with us. It's cool, we don't bite or anything. I save the _biting_ for girls only," Kiba finished, winking at her. "If you catch my drift, that is." Hinata could only nod numbly, fully aware of the slightly horrified looks on the other girls' faces. "Oh, and our room's kinda messy, so…" From behind him, Shino cleared his throat and coughed into his fist.

"Correction, Kiba: _your_ side of the room is messy. If you found the time to clean it, we would have been prepared for another roommate." Kiba pouted at that.

"Yeah, well, I _offered_ for us to clean the room together because you kept on nagging me to clean it, and you kept saying no!" Shino coolly returned his hands to his jacket pockets.

"My answer will continue to be no. Why? Because I wished for _you_ to clean your side, not for me to _join_ you in cleaning your side. There are certain things lost in your room's state of disarray that I do not wish to bear witness."

"Tch, you're an ass, you know that? I bet'cha Hyuuga's up for helping me clean my room, right? You're better than that bastard Shino anyway," Kiba said, turning to Hinata. The grin on his face made it difficult for the girl to say no, but the fact that Kiba's slightly creepy, mysterious roommate didn't even want to set foot into the boy's supposedly messy side of the dorm room made the experience seem much scarier than she knew it probably was. She gulped, but found herself nodding at the request against her will. Kiba let out a cry of victory, heckling at the ever-calm Shino.

"See that, Shino? Hyuuga could teach ya a few things about being a good friend and dormmate." Shino simply folded his arms across his chest.

"Hiashi-san is simply unaware of the magnitude of natural disaster that would have had to occur in order for your side of the room to be in its current state." Tenten, Sakura, and Ino snickered at Kiba's expense, causing the boy to whine pitifully. Trying to evade his own inevitable defeat in the argument, Kiba turned back to the girls-disguised-as-boys, a gleeful smile on his face.

"So, who's after Hyuuga? Actually, is it cool if I call ya Hiashi? We're roommates now, so we'll be the best of buddies starting now!" Hinata merely nodded shyly, but inside, she felt a giddy feeling rise into her chest and a small swarm of butterflies in her stomach. Although she was disguised, Hinata had never been good friends with the opposite sex. Half of the time, at Konoha High, boys were teasing her or trying to make her lose her bearings just to see her become nervous and stutter beyond all belief. The other half of the time was spent ignoring her because she had been easily overlooked, and for good reason. Not only that, but these two would be the only other friends she had made without the help of her girlfriends. She could only hope that, when they one day figured out her identity, they would want to stay friends with her…granted they got along well to begin with.

"That's me!" Ino called, waving her form in the air above her head. "I hope I don't land crazies like you, Billboard Brow." Sakura just groaned even more in her hands, for once letting the insult slide in exchange for her already swelling grief and anguish.

"What floor are ya on?"

"Mm…floor ten, room 1021," she hummed, looking at her form. Kiba chuckled.

"You might not get 'crazies,'" Kiba said, air-quoting with his fingers, "but you get the lazyass Shikamaru—that guy we passed in the hallway—and the chubby Chouji. I'll just let ya in on a warning: Shikamaru thinks everything's troublesome, so don't be surprised if he says that a lot. Also, I already warned you about Chouji; _never_ call him fat. Or anything that means even slightly the same as fat. Our dorm can only take so many holes in it before it decides to finally collapse on us." Now it was Ino's turn to groan in frustration. She had had second thoughts before the whole ordeal, but now, those thoughts were beginning to solidify themselves. It was too bad that turning back was no longer an option. "What about you, Tenshi? What do you have?"

"Floor eleven, room G507. Do I get interesting roommates, too?" Tenten asked, feeling more anxious to know who she would be spending her afterschool hours with. Kiba's throat formed a strange noise that fell between choking and growling. He made a small "Hmph!" before turning away, his arms crossed defiantly across his chest. Shino decided to pick up on where he had yet to start off.

"Residing in room G507 are Neji Hyuuga and Rock Lee." Hinata's ears perked up at the mention of the familiar name. "Kiba, though he has no problems with Lee, is not on the best of terms with Neji. They simply hate each other's guts."

"Obviously," The three girls chorused under their breaths, facing the aforementioned boy.

"It is mere conjecture, but Neji Hyuuga is, perhaps, related to Hiashi-san?"

"U-um, yes. He's my cousin. I haven't seen him s-since…" Hinata felt a lump grow in her throat, and she found that, though her mouth moved, they did not form vocalized words. A few of the others caught on to her discomfort around the subject.

"You do not need to delve in to the history or nature of your relationship. I simply wished to know if you were related." Hinata nodded at that, though she hung her head in shame at her almost-rambling. Kiba, having gotten over his disgust at the Hyuuga boy's name, turned and gripped at Shino's wrist, pulling up his sleeve to stare at the watch on his wrist. His eyes widened at the time, and turned to the remains of the group.

"It's kinda late, so you guys might wanna go find your rooms and get rested up. It'll be easy once you're on the right floor, the hallways just kinda go straight down. They don't branch off or anything. Haruno, you can take the stairs, it ain't too far of a climb. Unless you're gonna stay with one of your friends. If you are, then we'll just take the stairs to our floor. If not, we'll take the elevator with Yamanaka and Tenshi to our floor, and then we can meet up tomorrow if ya need help getting around the Academy building, 'kay?" They all nodded. Sakura had decided to stay with Ino that night, so Kiba, Shino, and Hinata separated from the group heading towards the elevator. Once the metal box closed its doors, the three residents of the eighth floor made for the stairway.

* * *

><p>"So, whaddya think?" Tenten asked, turning to the two other disguised members of their group. The blonde and the pinkette let out a loud groan, and Tenten had to let a giggle slide from her lips at their despair.<p>

"This is gonna be a _long_ school year," Sakura finally said. Ino had to nod in agreement to that, but her face suddenly took on a determined mask. She clenched her fists and let out a small noise of excitement.

"It looks kinda hopeless, but I bet'cha it won't be that bad once we get to really _know _these guys!" Ino cried out, attempting to lighten the mood in their cramped space. Sakura quickly caught on, clasping hands with the now-joyful blonde and staring at each other with adamant determination set. Tenten smiled at their enthusiasm, her own already having been flared on their arrival to the school campus.

"For once, Ino-Pig's right! We can get through this together, and we'll have the time of our lives! Besides, if we have trouble with our roommates, we'll just stay with someone else in the group. That way, we can look out for each other in case someone slips up," Sakura contributed, joining the chorus of agreements. Suddenly, Tenten grew worried.

"Guys, I know she suggested it and all, but do you think Hinata's gonna be all right? I mean, that Kiba guy seems like a real player, you know? And there's his creepy roommate, too. I know Hinata's pretty strong and all, but do you think she can handle it? If they figure out she's a girl, there's no telling what'll happen then." Sakura and Ino shared a look, before glancing over at the worried girl.

"None of us are really secure here, except maybe Temari-chan, and there's no telling how these boys would act if they knew there were girls here, but we're already in too deep to back out now. All we can really do is try to protect her, and have faith. She's a strong girl, I'm sure she'll be fine."

The elevator shook to a stop on the tenth floor.

* * *

><p>"So, Hiashi, how do ya like the school so far? It's okay if you don't like it, nobody here really likes to be at school, ya know?" Kiba asked, attempting to make conversation. Hinata shook her head frantically, looking slightly harried.<p>

"I-I actually kind of like school…I get to meet n-nice people and learn new things…" Kiba stared at her in disbelief.

"Dude, no way. The only other person I know who _enjoys_ (and here he shuddered) school is _Shino_, and he's already weird beyond all belief. Besides, he's a nerd. No offense, buddy." Shino ignored Kiba's comments on his person and continued to stay neutral in the conversation by not making a peep. Just then, Kiba leaned in close to Hinata's face, as if examining her for the first time. His eyes became narrow slits, then widened, and then narrowed again, as if he were scrutinizing her.

"Ya know, you look kinda like a girl." Hinata mistakenly eep'd at his sudden intrusion of her personal space, and couldn't cover her mouth in time to stop it. Kiba snickered, and Shino just stared at her as usual in his own calculating way. "You even make girly noises."

"I-I…um…"

"Aw, it's s'okay, Hiashi! I think it's cute. And don't take that the wrong way, I'm more of a chick-diggin' kinda guy. It's just a refresher from all the testosterone that floats around this god awful place. You'd make a real cute girl, though, just sayin'. Maybe you should consider it in the future."

"I-I…guess so," Hinata said, giggling slightly under her breath. Shino's eyebrow rose at Kiba's offhand comment, though he chose not to comment on it. They continued up the staircase in a somewhat awkward, but otherwise comfortable silence. As they were making the rounds to the final staircase leading to the eighth floor, Kiba jumped up as if struck by lightning.

"_Shit!_ I forgot to feed Akamaru!" _Akamaru?_ "I'll see you guys up there!" And in a split second, Kiba was up the stairs so fast, Hinata could see the faint trail of dust left behind him. There was the loud slamming of a metal door at the top of the stairs, cueing that Kiba had already gotten there and was well on his way back to the room. Hinata could only continuing walking at a leisurely pace with the mysterious boy, unable to find anything to make conversation with. However, she didn't have to, because he had already planned what he had been itching to say to her once they were out of the company of others.

"Why are you here?" He asked quietly, stopping right behind the large metal door leading into the eighth floor hallway. Hinata stopped in her tracks, noticing him not walking, and turned to him with a confused look on her face.

"Wh-what do you mean?" His glasses glinted, and she was not quite sure how it did so without the correct positioning of the light.

"Here. At this school." Something in Hinata's mind told her to try and turn the conversation away, that she was entering dangerous waters, but she paid no heed to the voices in her head and decided to satiate her curiosity instead.

"I'm here to l-learn…it _is_ a school, a-after all," she responded, her tone slightly humorous. He caught it, but didn't seem in the mood for mood-lighteners. He took a confident step forward, sending her one step back in the process. After a few short moments, he took another step, and this continued until she was backed against the stairwell wall. Hinata had half-expected him to slam his hands on either side of her, effectively sealing her to the wall with his body, much like they did in movies and TV shows she had seen before. However, he made no motions to do so, and only stood there looking foreboding and imposing.

"That is not what I meant. You are well aware that this is a boys academy, and yet, you have the gall to enroll disguised as one. For what purpose does a female of your variety have to attend this school?" Hinata wasn't sure if it was the way he spoke, the sound of his deep voice, or the fact that he was at least a head taller than her, but she found herself unable to form coherent words to answer him, no matter how hard she tried. Maybe it was the shock of having been discovered so early on in her enrollment. Did Kiba know, too, and kept it to himself? What about Shikamaru, the guy they passed in the hallway? Hinata had to wonder, and all of the bad thoughts swirling in her mind caused her to become lightheaded. Shino must have noticed her obvious discomfort, because he took a tiny step back, out of her personal bubble to allow her to breathe.

"Do not be alarmed. I do not wish to interrogate you for shady purposes, only as a means to satisfy my curiosity. You do not need to answer as of this moment, but I _do_ wish for an answer in the future. I will not blackmail you, nor use your identity against you."

"I…Is it b-bad for me to b-be here?" Hinata managed to whisper through her somewhat uncooperative throat. Shino's eyebrows rose, and Hinata felt the air around them become slightly more relaxed.

"Perhaps if you and your friends were to be caught. However, by no means is it a negative thing for you to be here. In fact, I would say that there is a lot of good that may come of it. The benefits of a group of girls being at this academy may outweigh the potential consequences by far." Hinata let out a breath of relief that she had no idea that she had been holding.

"Th-that's good…" Shino outstretched his hand to reach the door, and as he gripped at the handle, he turned to her. She couldn't quite make out his expression, but she noticed the ghost of the edges of his lips upturning, though she felt like she had just imagined it as a way to calm herself.

"And do not assume, based on my earlier questioning, that _I_ find your presence at this school at all a bad thing." His face seemed stone-set, but the encouraging words made Hinata smile slightly. The metal door swung open, and from the air in front of her, Hinata saw only something large and white before she was knocked to the ground.


	3. Getting to Know You

**A/N: Okay, so, this chapter's been edited to be a combination of the original chapter three and the shorter chapter four. I figured that it'd be easier for me to deal with both chapters together as a whole since they're the shorter chapters.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

><p><em>LAST CHAPTER<em>

"_I…Is it b-bad for me to b-be here?" Hinata managed to whisper through her somewhat uncooperative throat. Shino's eyebrows rose, and Hinata felt the air around them become slightly more relaxed._

_ "Perhaps if you and your friends were to be caught. However, by no means is it a negative thing for you to be here. In fact, I would say that there is a lot of good that may come of it. The benefits of a group of girls being at this academy may outweigh the potential consequences by far." Hinata let out a breath of relief that she had no idea that she had been holding. _

_ "Th-that's good…" Shino outstretched his hand to reach the door, and as he gripped at the handle, he turned to her. She couldn't quite make out his expression, but she noticed the ghost of the edges of his lips upturning, though she felt like she had just imagined it as a way to calm herself._

_ "And do not assume, based on my earlier questioning, that _I_ find your presence at this school at all a bad thing." His face seemed stone-set, but the encouraging words made Hinata smile slightly. The metal door swung open, and from the air in front of her, Hinata saw only something large and white before she was knocked to the ground._

* * *

><p><em>Chapter Three: Getting to Know You<em>

'_My body…'_ Hinata thought to herself, her mind processing in slow-motion, '_…it feels so heavy. I can't get up…there's something on me.'_ At that, Hinata found her eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. The poor, dim lighting of the stairwell was easy to adjust to, but she paid it no mind, because lying on top of her was one of the largest white dogs she had ever seen in her life. Thinking quickly, she tried to scramble out from underneath it, but was too slow, and met her fate as a long, pink tongue lapped her face and knocked off her baseball cap.

"Akamaru! Get offa her, buddy!" Kiba called from behind the dog, panting hard from having to run after the dog. The dog considered it for a moment, but decided to comply as it pulled back onto its haunches, its tail wagging enough to create a small breeze in the room. Shino, who had been witness to the entire scene, had reacted the moment the door swung open and positioned himself so that he was out of assaulting range. Judging by his face, this was nothing new. Kiba let out a tired sigh, trying to give Akamaru what was supposed to be a scolding look, only to fail. The dog licked his face as well, and the boy found it in him to grin at his best friend.

"Sorry, Hiashi! He gets outta hand sometimes, and I kinda forgot to warn ya about it, so…" At the sound of her fake name, Hinata sat up and tried to wipe some of the dog drool off of her face with her sleeve. Her hair had been drenched in the liquid, and it was sticking to her face, as well as in strange directions. Kiba gave her an odd, though amused look.

"I-it's okay…I was just surprised, that's a-all," Hinata answered truthfully, a small grin making its way to her face as she looked at the large dog, which was giving her a somewhat pitiful expression. She reached out to pet it on the head, and the dog met her halfway. Forgetting her situation, she allowed a tiny giggle to escape her lips, which earned her a questioning look from Kiba.

"Whoa, guys don't giggle. You sure you aren't a girl?" Kiba asked, though he had meant it as more of a joke than a serious question. Luckily, Shino decided to save Hinata right at that moment.

"If I recall, you were supposed to feed him, Kiba. He is only ever this excited when he is not content." Kiba pouted, having forgotten his previous jest almost immediately.

"Hey, I _tried_. But the moment I opened the door, he just jumped right out and ran down the hallway to the stairs. I didn't even get to step _inside_ the room, I was too busy chasing him and trying to keep him contained so nobody could catch him in the dorms." Kiba turned towards his dog, who was trying to win sympathy by whining pathetically at his owner. "But the guy's a rascal. And a really fast one, might I add."

"H-he's cute…" Hinata said, which got a proud smile out of Kiba.

"Yep, he's been my best buddy since I was little. We did everything together, and we still do. 'Cept _he_ doesn't have to go to school for the next few months." Hinata laughed, patting the dog a few more times for good measure. "Anyway, what say we go back and clean my side of the room now?"

"I am not cleaning your half of the room," Shino stated firmly, his arms crossed. Kiba just playfully glared at him in response.

"Not _you_. _Hiashi's_ gonna help me, ain't that right?" Kiba sent an implicative look towards the girl, who just smiled shyly and nodded. Kiba turned back to his stoic friend and stuck his tongue out at him. "See? Told'ja." Had they been able to see Shino's eyes, they would've seen him roll them. They decided to get out of the stairwell—after having checked if the coast was clear—and head back to their room, Akamaru in tow. Room 863 was further down the hall, and Hinata was able to notice the different signs on the doors that implied who stayed in them. Room 823, for example, had numerous scratches and dents in the room number plaque, while room 840 was polished and unscathed, as if it were brand new. Others had small pieces of _something_ on them, sometimes food, sometimes a something that Hinata couldn't, and didn't want to, place. When they were almost to the end of the hall, Hinata caught a glimpse of the plaque on her new, shared room. It had tiny scratches on it, not like the serious cuts on room 823, and was only slightly dirty, but it was otherwise one of the cleaner, more well-kept ones. Kiba pulled out a key from his pants pocket, and inserted it into the small keyhole in the door, turning it. A small, audible click was heard as the door gave way.

"Home sweet home!" Kiba said cheerily as Akamaru immediately bounded into the room. Hinata watched as the state of the room became visible to her, and she found herself inwardly laughing at just how _separated_ the room really looked. On the right hand side, there was a simple twin-sized bed with no bedframe, and beside it, a small wooden desk and chair. Piled on top of these things were stacks of dirty clothes, board games, a stray game system, and several other small trinkets that made the furniture look almost nonexistent. A little more than halfway towards the left side of the room, there seemed to be some kind of invisible barrier that kept the piles among piles of junk on the right side from overflowing into the left. The left side, Hinata could wholeheartedly say, was far cleaner than the right side. There was a simple desk with a laptop, an office chair of the swivel kind, a twin-sized bed with a basic wooden bedframe, and a nightstand with what looked like a terrarium on top of it. There was a neat basket of dirty clothing in a far, almost desolate corner, along with a bookshelf along the wall. The floor looked almost polished.

"It moved again," Hinata heard Shino lament from beside her. She looked at him in a confused manner, but he made no move for explanation. Kiba gave a grunt.

"It did not, you're just imagining it." Shino took a step towards where the invisible barrier seemed to be erected, and stood to look at it, Kiba doing the same.

"I am sure of it." Kiba pfft'd at him, before pointing at where the room seemed to split.

"See that line there in the floor? That's where it was yesterday. It hasn't moved!" Hinata became more confused, but didn't want to ask. Shino shook his head slightly in disapproval.

"Yesterday, it was there," he said, kneeling down and placing his finger at a location mere millimeters away from the line Kiba had been speaking of, "and now it is here." His second finger moved to the current location, showing an almost unnoticeable amount of distance between his two fingers. Kiba stared at his friend in disbelief.

"Dude, _who cares_? It's only like, a centimeter, it doesn't make any difference!" Shino pointedly glared at him this time, standing up.

"Tell me that when it has completely overwhelmed my side of the room within the week." Suddenly, Hinata felt like laughing out loud. They were talking about the barrier.

"Whatever, we're gonna clean it today, anyways," Kiba said, pouting and folding his arms across his chest defiantly. "And if you don't want all this crap to just _eat_ your side, you better help us."

* * *

><p>"Are you going to be all right, Tenten-chan?" Sakura asked as her and Ino stepped out of the rickety elevator. Tenten just gave them a thumbs up and a smile.<p>

"I'll be fine. I'd worry more about yourselves," she said before the elevator doors hid her from view. The two girls sent one last look towards the elevator, then to each other, before moving down the hallway to find room 1021. Luckily for them, room 1021 was one of the ones near the elevator at the beginning of the hall, and it didn't take long for them to find it without any interference from stray hallway dwellers. Ino gulped before giving the door a tentative knock. Seconds seemed to tick by like hours, and both girls nearly jumped when the door actually unlocked and clicked open before them. From the hallway, they made out the face of the room's occupant to be rather chubby with two swirls on his cheeks. Considering the fact that he didn't look like the guy from the hallway, they both came to the conclusion that this was Chouji. The bag of potato chips in his hand crackled.

"Who are you?" The two girls glanced at each other before turning back to the chubby boy.

"We're new here," Sakura answered him.

"I'm your new roommate; she's just staying for a little while to get used to this place," Ino added in. "Her real room's with a Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki." A look of realization seemed to pass over Chouji's face, and he stepped out of the way to let them pass. The scene was almost appalling.

"What in the…" Sakura started, but she never finished. The floors of the room were littered with a variety of potato chips, as well as some dirty laundry and socks, and there was barely any furniture inside except for a single desk, a bunk bed in a far corner, and a couch lining the opposite wall. There seemed to be a small TV on the desk, and a meager chair cast off to the side. The trash can in the other corner seemed to be full to the brim, and there was more laundry outside of hamper than in it. It was as if they had played a game of basketball with their clothing—from _outside _the door. Chouji passed them as he entered the room, plopping himself down on the couch and powering the TV.

"Sorry for the mess; it's been awhile since we cleaned in here," he said between chips. "Shikamaru thinks cleaning's too troublesome. Shikamaru's my roommate." The two girls were at a loss for words, but before they could gather their bearings, another voice drawled from behind them.

"I guess that old headmistress was right, we _do_ have new students. How troublesome." Ino and Sakura turned to face the lazy boy they had seen earlier that day, and they noticed his eyes widening only slightly before going back to their normal size. "And they're those people I saw earlier in the hall."

"Um, it's nice to meet you. I'm Saku Haruno," Sakura finally said, managing to gather herself enough to speak. "I'm not really assigned to this room, I'm just trying to avoid my actual roommates. I heard they were pretty bad." He gave her a strange look, then turned to Ino, causing her to snap out of her frozen state, realizing she hadn't introduced herself either.

"Oh! I'm Inoichi Yamanaka. It's nice to meet you." Shikamaru just nodded in acknowledgement. He scratched the back of his head and yawned.

"I'm Shikamaru Nara. That's Chouji Akimichi. So, who're you avoiding?" Chouji took the floor on that one.

"Sasuke and Naruto." Shikamaru looked surprised, but not overly so. He smiled lazily at this information, and, at that moment, remembered to shut the door behind him. He made his way over to the couch to join the still eating boy, not exactly engulfed in whatever show was on the tube. He bothered to glance at the two new roommates.

"So? Get comfortable, although it's troublesome."

* * *

><p>"Room G507…room G507…" Tenten chanted as she walked along the hall. She had passed several doors already, and had to wonder just how far this room was supposed to be. She had figured, since the dorms were probably in numerical order from least to greatest, she would be there soon, but it didn't seem that way with this bizarre floor. "Room G505…room G508…room G50…7! I found it!" Tenten mentally cheered before quickly rapping her knuckle on the door. The plaque on the room's door was sparkly clean, something she had not seen on the other doors. Almost as soon as her knocking was done, the door swung open to reveal a boy with a short bowl-cut hairstyle, green jumpsuit, orange leg warmers, and bushy eyebrows. Tenten took a cautious step back, unable to discern whether she should be laughing at his attire and appearance, or trying to run away before it was too late. She chose the middle ground and did nothing.<p>

"And who are you?" he asked, his voice excited and loud. Tenten could've sworn she heard a sound of possible interest from within, but was too preoccupied to really care for it. She quickly pulled out her paper.

"I'm your new roommate, I guess," she answered, and she knew she had seen something sparkle in his large eyes. Suddenly, the air around him seemed to engulfed in flames, and his excited aura flared tenfold.

"That is wonderful! Another youthful soul to share this room with! Let us all share the glorious moments of our springtime youth together!"

"Lee, stop that," a voice called from inside, and the boy named Lee seemed to calm down by only a miniscule amount. Another boy appeared from beside Lee, and his piercing pale eyes stared at Tenten with a vigor she had never felt before. It was wholly unnerving and scary. "What's your name?"

"Ah, Tenshi. You guys are Neji Hyuuga and Rock Lee, right?" Lee just beamed at her, his teeth letting out an odd shine, and jutting out a thumbs up in her face.

"You are correct, Tenshi-san! I am the lovely green beast of Konoha Academy, Rock Lee!" '_I don't know about lovely,'_ Tenten thought, though she kept it to herself. The other boy, Neji, just Hn'd at her before crossing his arms cold over his chest. He turned away and headed back inside, though not before calling out to her.

"Make yourself comfortable and don't be a nuisance." Tenten frowned at him, already annoyed with the boy she hadn't even actually spoken to yet. It was definitely going to be an interesting stay. Beside her, Lee rambled on about his morning, lunch, and late-night training excursions. Tenten had to admit, the parts she was paying attention to were quite impressive, but she would have to decline in joining him in his exercises; they were probably too much for anybody that wasn't him.

* * *

><p>"How can you possibly <em>live<em> in this?" Shino asked, tossing a large stack of beyond dirty clothes into the trash bag next to him. After much begging on Kiba's part, and some help from Hinata—it was purely unintentional or was coerced by Kiba—they had roped the hooded boy into assisting with the cleaning. Half of the clothes in the bag, which were going to be thoroughly washed at some point, were most likely going to be thrown into the actual garbage can, and those that weren't smelled like sewage and whatever else filth Shino could think Kiba would roll himself in.

"H-he's probably used to i-it…" Hinata said, dusting off the now-laundry-free desk. They had brought in heavy towels to wipe some of the caked in dirt on Kiba's side of the room, and it left Hinata wondering just how some of it managed to get on the ceiling.

"Yeah, it's been awhile since I've actually _seen_ my floor," Kiba joked, though in all actuality, he couldn't attest to having even walked on his floor because of all of the stuff on it. "I'll make sure to polish it more often, though. It wouldn't hurt to see my face in the floor every morning." Hinata giggled at his vanity. In the short time they had spent cleaning Kiba's room, both boys had gotten used to her giggling, despite the fact that only one of them knew she was really a girl. Kiba had passed her off as being just a really girly boy that giggled and found things to be cute.

"No, it _wouldn't_ hurt…at least, not us," Shino said, gesturing to everyone except Kiba. Said boy looked at Shino oddly before it clicked in his mind.

"Hey! That's not cool!" Hinata could only laugh at their antics. Once she had completed dusting off the desk, she began on making his bed…or, at least, what she believed to be his bed. They hadn't begun gathering all of the objects on his mattress yet, and she wasn't even sure where to start. She glanced at one end of the stack, then the other, and finally to the middle. Sighing, she decided to start extricating objects from the left, then making her way to the right. She tossed several layers of socks towards the dirty laundry bag at Shino's feet, and a number of slobbery dog toys into a plastic bin at Kiba's feet. She dug into the mass of items until she had completed a large section of the mattress, pleased with her work. The comforter had small dog bones printed on it.

"Maybe we can find some treasure in my piles of shit," Kiba exclaimed, excitement clear in his voice. Shino made a face at him, but chose not to comment on that statement. Hinata chose to nod eagerly, quickly sifting through what was left of the trash on the bed. She made a small noise of accomplishment as she pulled a worn and torn box from underneath the pile. Both boys turned to her, wondering what she had found.

"I found a checkers game!" she called, holding the medium-sized box in front of her. Kiba frowned and made a disappointed noise.

"Checkers? You can throw that away, I'll probably never use it," Kiba muttered, going back to sorting out his laundry. "Or maybe if you guys wanna keep it, go ahead."

Cleaning had taken them a long time, but working together had proven a good idea, as they finished at least ten times faster than Kiba would've had he done it alone. Kiba had gone off to throw his first batch of laundry into the school's campus Laundromat on the ground floor of the dorm building, leaving Hinata and Shino alone with the box of checkers. Glancing at the box, Hinata looked towards Shino, as if ushering him to play checkers with her. His reach for the box meant his compliance.

"Do you like checkers?" Shino asked as he sat on the wooden floor and set up the board game. Hinata, sitting across from him, only nodded.

"I l-like chess more, though," she replied, grabbing at the red pieces and placing them in their appropriate squares on the board. "Th-the pieces have m-more movement, so s-strategizing is h-harder." Shino just hmm'd as he, too, set up his pieces on the board. Once the three rows of alternating pieces were set up, they played a short, two-out-of-three game of rock-paper-scissors to decide who went first. Shino won. He glanced at the board for a long while, surveying each piece and the possibilities of the game before making his first move.

"Do you l-like chess?" Hinata asked as she, too, moved one of her red pieces. She played it safe, moving her piece diagonally to the safest location on the board: the wall. He made a noncommittal noise.

"I prefer checkers. I believe that it is a more interesting game of strategy than chess." He moved another piece forward.

"Why?" she asked, genuine curiosity in her voice as she chose to move her second piece on the opposite side of the board, hoping to also place it into a safe position on the wall opposite to the one her first piece was located. Shino shifted his next piece into the safe location before hers could reach it on the next turn.

"Chess is comprised of a variety of different pieces, each piece able to move in its own particular way. There are endless possibilities of which to position your pieces in order to win. Checkers, however, limits your movement to a single space diagonally. You cannot move in a straight line; you are always attacking your opponent from a position that is not right in front of them." She shifted another piece into a safe position between two other pieces, one hers and the other his. He did the same in a different location.

"Y-you do the s-same in chess s-sometimes." She continued the safe path in-between pieces. Shino found a safe open location on the board, and shifted his piece into it.

"Correct. However, movement is not as limited. Checkers incorporates a game of chess with nothing but pawns that may only move in a diagonal direction. In a battle of wits, one attacks, and his opponent attacks back, until someone claims the upperhand. Openings are given…" Hinata moved a piece into a location that would be safe from being jumped, and was capable of jumping another piece, or was able to move the piece into a position was open to being jumped by another waiting piece. "...and are used to distract the enemy in order to turn the tables." He jumped her piece with one of his own, sealing off movement for one of her base pieces. She blinked, but quickly regained composure enough to shift another piece into a safe position.

'_I can still do this!'_ Hinata inwardly motivated, glancing at the board and trying to figure out what his plan of attack was. She noticed her pieces were in a safety formation, a square, and sealed off any movement from his one piece at the board's wall. She noticed him move one of his pieces to a safe spot between one of her pieces and one of his, breaking his own square. Thinking quickly, she shifted one of the pieces behind her square to another safe location, sure that he would not shift his other piece for fear that she would jump it.

"Ch-chess can be similar," Hinata responded, her eyes now staring at her opponent in an attempt to read him. He seemed to be focusing on the board, though it was difficult to tell with his sunglasses on. He shifted a piece from his second row to a safe location. She found an opening in his setup and shifted her piece between two of his own, leaving him unable to attack it, but allowing her to jump his piece without any worry of being jumped back the next turn. He adjusted his glasses, only moving on of his pieces to a location that left not one, but two of his pieces open to attack from two different directions.

"Perhaps. Both games can be small strategies that interlock to form one large plan. The difference," he began as Hinata decided to move in a safe direction that prevented her from being double-jumped, something she realized as she mapped out her possibilities, "is that checkers utilizes the player's effective use of limited range." He jumped one of her open pieces, something she had already anticipated in her prior move. She moved one of her safe pieces, the one she had reserved at the beginning of the game, into the now-safe zone near Shino's base.

"It is fairly easy to read possible movements in a game of checkers. It is similar to revealing your mindset to your adversary after you have done it; they will know a possible plan of yours for the next time they face you. In chess, it is more difficult to easily analyze movements, for each piece will move differently, and will open more possibilities than pieces in checkers." He moved his piece to a location that sealed off movement from another of her base pieces. She shifted her piece into a safety zone closer to his base. "If your opponent knows all of your moves, or is able to anticipate them, you are at a clear disadvantage in the field." He shifted his piece to a safety zone near her base row. She responded by moving a piece in another part of the map to a safe location.

"Why would you put yourself at a disadvantage?" He asked rhetorically as he moved his second piece near her base row to a point vulnerable to two attacks from base pieces. She eyed him cautiously before choosing a safe piece to jump him with. He responded by moving a piece to the empty zone in front of him. She shifted her piece to block his movements, lest he be jumped. "It will provide the player with a challenge. To overcome obstacles when your moves have already been anticipated," he stated, shifting his piece to be jumped by another of her own. She jumped him in kind, "is to truly exercise strategic movements." He double-jumped her from another location, much to her surprise. She, however, jumped that piece with her corner base piece. He shifted a safe piece from its position, forward. She shifted a piece that would not be jumped on the following turn. He moved into a safe location between two of her pieces.

"That is why I choose to play checkers," he stated simply before standing up, stretching slightly. Hinata looked up at him in a confused manner.

"W-we haven't f-finished the game," she said, the questioning look in her eyes. He merely gestured towards the board.

"I have already won." He watched as her eyes looked towards the board, then widened. On the board, she counted nine pieces in her arsenal, and seven in his own. None of them had been reached the base row, but the setup of the pieces caught her attention. At certain points during the gameplay, he had succeeded in discreetly destroying her safety square, coercing two of her base pieces out of their positions, and locking in every single one of her pieces without even moving his own base pieces. She looked up at him, slightly awed. She had no more time to comment on it, however, because Kiba had found his way through the door, his laundry bags empty and a grin on his face.

"All done!" Kiba cried joyfully, launching himself into his newly made bed. He folded his hands behind his head, turning to look at the remnants of their checkers game. He frowned. "You guys spent the entire time in here player _checkers_? Bo-ring!" He closed his eyes, and almost instantly fell into a snoring fit. Shino and Hinata glanced at him before glancing at each other.

"If you would prefer to engage in a game of chess, you may ask Shikamaru to join you." Hinata just smiled at that, a determined look finding its way onto her face. She shook her head slowly.

"I-I'd like to continue playing ch-checkers with you."

* * *

><p>"So, lemme get this straight, Temari. You and your prissy friends are here, at an <em>all boys <em>academy, disguised as guys, because you got bored of your own school?" An eerie silence enveloped Room S671 as Temari nodded for nth time. She had explained the whole situation to her brothers after the rest of her group left, and Kankurou just _couldn't_ seem to wrap his head around the idea. At first, Temari had just laughed at his confused face, but after the fifth time he had reiterated the exact same story using different words, she grew irritated, and she knew that Gaara was becoming unsettled, too.

"That's insane!" Kankurou cried out, _again_. The two other occupants just sighed, tired of his slowness.

"Look, you guys can't tell _anyone_ else here about it. I'm not worried about Gaara telling, but _you_, on the other hand," Temari began, giving her exceptionally louder brother a pointed look, "are another story. I don't care how many 'besties' you have here, or how close you are; you _can't_ let anyone know. If this leaks out, there's gonna be a real problem, and _someone's_," here, she looked at him again, "going to be dead within the hour. Understand?" The boy gulped, then nodded quickly. Temari sighed, glad to have that out of the way.

"That's kinda dumb, don't you think? Joining this academy just to have a little fun," Kankurou mentioned, regaining his ability to speak. "I know you, and even _you_ wouldn't think to do something _this_ stupid."

"It wasn't my idea. Hinata thought this one up all on her own." At this, even Gaara had the decency to look over at her in slight surprise. During their period of separation, Temari had been occasionally contacting both of her brothers and telling them about her school adventures, which were few and far between. She had also mentioned to them about her friends, though she had never sent pictures or anything of the sort. Given the fact that they _did_ attend a school full of nothing but guys, there was no telling what sending them pictures of the ever-rare girls would entail.

"The shy one?" Gaara asked, speaking for the first time since the others had gone. Temari could remember a time, some few years ago, when Gaara would be a total recluse and just shut everybody else out of his life. At that point, he had trust issues with everyone around him because their father operated in a rather controversial business, and any attempt at an assassination of Gaara's life, especially since he was to be his father's successor despite having an older brother, was nothing new. When their father had finally decided that enough was enough, he boarded both Gaara and Kankurou off to Konoha Academy where the situation was explained to the headmistress. Temari had been let out of the house to live on her own not too long afterwards, and in the previous year, had relocated herself to Konoha.

"Yep, that's the one. It surprised me, too, to be honest. I don't know what she's thinking, but I get the feeling it has something to do with her family," Temari divulged, staring intently at the wall in front of her. "That 'we're going because it's a better school and more interesting' excuse just sounds like a load of bull to me, but I'll go along with it. If _Hinata_ came up with an idea like this, then it must be for an important reason to her."

"That's great and all, but just 'cause it's important doesn't mean you'll get through a year here so easily. We're guys, and we _still_ find it dangerous to be here," Kankurou admitted, looking Temari dead in the side of her head, which had turned to meet eyes with him. "There are some seriously messed up people here, total nutcases, and they won't hesitate anything when they find out your secret." They stared down each other for a long while, daring the other to give up.

"That's why, while I'm here, you can't say anything unless we're in this room and away from stray ears. For everyone else, my name is going to be Temaru, not Temari. _Don't slip up_. Just once, and it might be all over. Since you're both my brothers, I think the other girls will know that you guys know about it, so it's safe to talk to them about it, too. Whatever Hinata's planning, I kind of want it to work for her. She usually doesn't ask anything of us, and this experience might be kinda interesting." Kankurou feh'd at her, finally folding his arms over his chest and looking away, a disapproving look on his face.

"You won't be saying that when your secret's found out and a bunch of random guys try to fuck you." Temari glared and kicked him in the head. Gaara coughed into his fist, drawing their attention.

"We should go to collect our schedules for tomorrow." He nodded at the digital clock in the corner of the room, the blinking screen telling them that it was close to midnight. Temari's eyes widened.

"It's that late already?" Her only response from her younger sibling was a nod as he made his way for the door. Kankurou gathered himself from the floor as Temari quickly readjusted her disguise, both following Gaara out the door.

* * *

><p>An odd silence enveloped the room, only breaking when Shikamaru lightly slammed his fist on the signal-less TV, whose static noise had soon become a part of the background. Ino and Sakura sat on the floor of the room, as far away from the two boys as the area would permit without seeming as though they were intentionally trying to avoid coming in close contact. When the TV was no longer planning to respond—or maybe it was just that Shikamaru decided to give up on trying to fix it—Chouji grabbed the remote and turned the electric box off. Now, it seemed, the only notable noise was that of Chouji crunching on yet another bag of potato chips. Ino and Sakura both looked to the other for some idea of what to do to break the uncomfortable and highly awkward silence, but neither had any idea what to say. Shikamaru had told them to "get comfortable," but it seemed much harder to do than they had initially thought. After having stared lazily at the TV for what seemed to be forever—or maybe he was looking at empty space, they couldn't tell—he turned to them and gave them an odd look.<p>

"You guys look uncomfortable," he said as though he didn't actually care, but decided it had been worth mentioning. Both girls almost visibly froze at his observation.

"It's nothing, really! We're just…" Ino trailed off, sneaking sidelong glances at Sakura, calling for help. Luckily, Sakura got the message.

"We're just a bit nervous about being at a new school, that's all. We don't really know anyone here besides each other and our other friends, but that's out of a whole academy of students. It's a bit nerve-wracking," Sakura said, and Shikamaru seemed to acknowledge their reason for discomfort. He plopped himself back on the couch, his hands folded neatly behind his head as he leaned back into the cushion.

"Yeah, moving schools is really troublesome. You leave all your friends behind, then you gotta make new ones and get used to everything…it's a real pain. And totally unnecessary to boot." They nodded, their heads resembling bobbleheads, before the conversation seemed to die and morph back into the awkward silence from before. Sakura decided that she would take this time to bring up conversation she had been wondering about for a while.

"Hey, could you tell me more about my two roommates? Naruto and Sasuke, I think they were named." Shikamaru's eyes, which had been closed so he could daydream, opened lazily as he stared up at the blank ceiling, finding whatever was up there very interesting.

"They're a real troublesome pair of guys. Sasuke's a playboy. Every girl he's ever met has wanted to get in his pants, every guy wants to be like him. Well, almost every guy. It's too troublesome being that desirable anyway. He's dark, angsty, and cool; I guess girls like that kinda stuff. I'll never understand why," Shikamaru sighed, shaking his head. "Naruto, on the other hand, is a hyperactive moron who does before he thinks. He hates Sasuke's guts. They're rivals in everything, but they're also best friends. Putting them in a room together was the biggest mistake the headmistress has ever made, and I think she's trying to fix that by putting a peacemaker, you, in there to even things out between them." The lazy boy looked over at his chubby companion, who had fallen asleep with chip bag in hand and was snoring peacefully beside him. Shikamaru grinned before turning back to the ceiling and shutting his eyes.

"I don't think putting a girl in the same room as them is going to make things better, though." Now, both girls _did_ freeze. Shikamaru didn't notice their obvious internal dilemma, his eyes closed and all.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Ino said nervously, weakly laughing. Shikamaru opened one of his eyes and tilted his head slightly so that he was looking at them. His face just spelled out "how troublesome" as he glanced at them from his peripheral.

"How troublesome. I already knew from earlier, when I passed you in the hallway. You don't do a very good job of disguising yourselves. In fact, Shino probably already noticed it, too. The guy has a knack for noticing small things. Kiba, on the other hand, probably doesn't know yet, so I guess you're still pretty safe." His other eye cracked open, this time towards a nearby clock, and he let out a small grunt of annoyance. Grudgingly pulling himself from the couch and stretching as he stood, he made his way towards the door.

"Where're you going?" Sakura asked, getting over her initial shock at being discovered so quickly. She noted that, although he looked lazy and passive, he was very perceptive. She would need to keep her guard up if she didn't want any other observant boys figuring it out.

"Getting my schedule. It may be troublesome, but collecting your schedule right now helps to avoid the huge crowd at the mailboxes tomorrow morning before classes start. They should be in the mail right about now; it's almost midnight. I'm gonna be picking Chouji's up for him; are you two going with me or not?" Both girls turned to each other, unsure of whether to go or not. After being discovered so early on in the game, they weren't certain that going outside was smart. Shikamaru's unpleasant sigh broke them out of their thoughts.

"If you go, you might see your other groupies. I'm pretty sure they'll want to avoid the crowd, too." That settled it. They jumped off the floor to follow him through the door.

* * *

><p>"You will like Gai-sensei when you meet him! He is the epitome of youthfulness!" Lee exclaimed excitedly, seating himself next to Tenten, who sat on the floor surveying her surroundings. She had not been listening to him entirely as he rambled on about the school's gym teacher, Maito Gai, whom Tenten deemed as insane from Lee's descriptions. The room she sat in was impeccably clean, with any dust bunnies that would have been found in a normal room having been eradicated, and there was only one bed. There was also only a single desk, a wooden chair stationed neatly under it. A closet was to her left, and a small door off to another section of the room was, by her guess, probably the bathroom. Other than those, little furniture was found, and their belongings were few in number. Neji sat silently off to another corner of the room, meditating it seemed. Tenten thought back to his cold attitude from earlier. <em>Nothing like Hinata-chan<em>, she thought.

"Lee-san, why's there only one bed? Unless you guys…" but she was stopped short as she felt Neji's piercing glare on her back. She would've sent him a glare right back had Lee not already begun explaining to her their arrangements.

"No, it's nothing like that, Tenshi-san. I sleep on a futon—it's in the closet right now—as part of my body conditioning and survival training. It is nothing to worry about, I have gotten used to the floor, and it is just as comfortable to me as a bed now," Lee said, giving her a million watt smile. She looked doubtfully at him, but decided not to question his oddities. They were much too numerous. She just sighed, staring off into space as Lee continued to trail off on some subject or other. Lee was obviously very spirited, and Tenten knew she would get along with him fine, but the other boy was something else entirely. His cold demeanor annoyed her to almost no end, and she knew that speaking to him would probably do nothing. It was going to be a stroke of luck if they got along.

"So, what do you guys do in here all day long?"

"Neji meditates, or reads a book, or goes out to do some one-on-one training with me when I need a sparring partner. I like to enjoy the full extension of my springtime of youth by training by body with Gai-sensei! You should join us, too!" Lee had a sparkle in his eyes as he looked at her eagerly, but she just backed away and declined.

"Mind if I look in your closet? I'm not much for hand-to-hand combat or sitting around reading all day long," Tenten said, motioning towards the closet beside her. Lee just looked at her sheepishly.

"We don't have much, but please, make do with whatever you wish in there. As our new roommate, you are entitled to anything within this room! Unless it's Neji's," he added quickly, noticing Neji's face break into a frown. Tenten seemed to not be listening as she rummaged through the objects in the closet. He was right, there weren't too many things inside, mostly various types of weights or piles of worn books. Something caught her eye, though, and she made a small noise of accomplishment as she pulled out an old darts box, which looked as though it hadn't been opened yet.

"A darts game? Cool!" Lee looked over at it, realization falling upon him.

"Oh, Neji and I found that one day and we tried to play. We had a contest, and he kept winning, so I practiced day and night until I could at least tie scores with him, maybe beat him. Honestly, we weren't really all that good at it…" Lee trailed off, the sheepish look returning to his face.

"Ehh…" Tenten began, the interest in her voice. She neatly opened the box and, with permission, placed the dartboard on the wall opposite her. She stood as far away from the board as she could, gathering each of the colored darts in her hand and focusing on the center of the board. Neji had subtly cracked his eye open a tiny fraction to witness her first attempt at playing darts, while Lee none-too-quietly cheered her on from the side. With a quick flick of her wrist and impressive speed, she sent the first dart, a yellow one, flying at the dartboard where it hit the center circle dead-on. Lee cheered louder, his awe obvious, as Neji's own countenance took on a look that said that even _he_ was impressed.

"You have an impressive aim," Neji said from where he sat, causing Tenten to look at him in surprise.

"You spoke to me," she said back, causing his eyebrow to quirk. "I actually got Mr. Icicle to talk to me. Now _that's_ what I call an accomplishment!" Tenten beamed at herself, and Neji made an offended face at being called an icicle while Lee just joined her in her victory, which none of them had known existed until just now. Neji's frown only deepened as they united in a moment that he could only call pure idiocy, discussing about him openly. He got up silently, his arms folded, as he made his way towards their door.

"Eh? Neji, where're you going?" Lee asked from his new spot on the floor, Tenten sitting beside him with an equally curious expression.

"The mail should be in about now. I'm going to pick up my schedule." Tenten and Lee both shared a look as they jumped to pursue him out the door.

* * *

><p>Hinata and Shino sat in an oddly comfortable silence as Kiba's snoring filled their ears. After their checkers game, and having the room cleaned to an extent, they sat in companionable silence, almost soothed by the occasional snores from the wild boy and his dog. To his left, Shino heard Hinata yawn. He tilted his head in her direction just as she finished, and just looked at her for a moment, as if he was trying to think of a plan.<p>

"If you would like, you may use my bed to sleep," he finally said, indicating the bed he was currently leaning on. "It is of reasonable cleanliness." Hinata shook her head almost immediately at his offer, flustered.

"N-no! I-I couldn't…where would y-you sleep?"

"I am perfectly content with sleeping here. It is only temporary; Kiba will most likely realize that you have nowhere to sleep tomorrow and find you a bed." Hinata understood the logic, but she couldn't bring herself to accept it. Even if it was only for one night, depriving the boy of his bed seemed like too much for her, not to mention that he would be sleeping in his current position, propped up against the foot of the bed. He seemed to sense her indecision as he began again. "We do not have any spare futons or pillows, and you are in an environment that is uncomfortable to you. It is merely a courtesy that I offer you my bed; Kiba would do the same if he knew your secret. His intentions in that type of scenario would be unknown, but he would at least offer." She still seemed doubtful, almost amazingly so, but she could already guess by his tone of voice that he was not going to back down, and that his offer was not just an offer, but practically a command.

"I-I…thank you. B-but…I don't w-want you sleeping on th-the floor," she said back, making sure her voice was a bit stronger. If she was going to be taking his bed, then she would make sure that he would, at least, sleep somewhere more comfortable than the floor. She willed herself not to stutter as she made her counter-offer. "We'll split the bed."

She noticed surprise evident on his face by the way his eyebrow quickly rose close to his hairline. They both knew how absurd that kind of an offer was, especially since they were opposite sexes, and almost immediately Hinata wanted to take back her request. She kept herself from regretting her choice, though, by making sure to strengthen her resolve. To prove her point, she took some of the pillows on the bed and placed them at a halfway point on the bed, creating a makeshift barrier on the two halves. They were small halves, but at least it would be more comfortable than the hardwood floor.

"Are you sure? It would be incredibly uncomfortable for you." She nodded resolutely, her eyes focusing on not fluctuating.

"I-I'll be living in here with two b-boys. If we're going to be roommates, I'll n-need to be comfortable with you, right?" She silently applauded herself for only stuttering three times. Shino made no more comment on it, though he hesitated. However, instead of finding a spot on the bed, he stood up and made his way towards the door. Hinata looked up at him, bewildered at the sudden change.

"Wh-where are you g-going?"

"It is almost midnight. The dorm building mail should be arriving with the students' schedules at about this time. I am going to retrieve mine and Kiba's. Would you like me to get yours as well?" Hinata shook her head, quietly hopping off of the bed she had seated herself on.

"I'll g-go with you."

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><p><strong>AN: Okay, originally the chapters were separated at the end of the checkers game, but since I've combined it, I'll cut down on the number of chapters, and the chapter becomes longer. In the future, I'll probably go back and edit some of these chapters, maybe combine a few more of them together so it'll be easier to manage.**


	4. The Plot Unfolds Maybe

**A/N: I've found time to update with my four-day weekend, which is pretty cool. I spent the first four chapters with basically nothing but basic introductions and just a tiny bit of character development, so I'm sorry for anybody who thinks it's moving rather slowly. I had half a mind to combine the chapters together into one giant chapter, but then I'd have to replace everything, and then I'd probably have to re-submit the story to merge the other chapters with the first one. I planned to make this chapter a lot longer, to finally get some of the plot moving and actually START their schooling...*laugh*. Anybody who has no idea what the plot of the story is, that'll be revealed along the way. **

**Disclaimer: Naruto. I don't own it.**

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><p><em>LAST CHAPTER<em>

"_It is almost midnight. The dorm building mail should be arriving with the students' schedules at about this time. I am going to retrieve mine and Kiba's. Would you like me to get yours as well?" Hinata shook her head, quietly hopping off of the bed she had seated herself on._

_ "I'll g-go with you."_

* * *

><p><em>Chapter Five: The Plot Unfolds…Maybe.<em>

"So…Temari." The aforementioned girl sharply swiveled her head at her brother, who only caught his mistake after having already let it out. He quickly snapped his hand over his mouth and mumbled his now inaudible apology to the glaring girl. "Sorry, I meant _Temaru_. You know, you remind me an _awful lot_ of my sister, who definitely _doesn't_ attend this schoo—"

"Oh shush it, Kankurou. You're lucky there isn't anyone in the hallway, and if there was, they wouldn't believe that excuse anyway." The siblings stopped right outside the elevator, waiting for it to descend, or ascend, to their floor. "What do you want?"

"Ah, well, I just wanted to tell you something important. It's about this school, and I think it's really, _really_ important that you, and your friends, know about i—"

"Kankurou. This might not be a good time," Gaara stated firmly. The elevator doors made a small dingy noise, and its doors slowly parted to reveal a near full compartment, the inhabitants of which slightly surprised the siblings. Crammed into the rickety elevator—"crammed" being a bad word, since that spelled certain doom for anybody in the elevator hoping to make it out alive with that many people in such a poor excuse for an elevator—were Neji, Tenten, and Lee; Shikamaru, Ino, and Sakura; and Shino and Hinata, all of which were looking slightly uncomfortable and nothing less than slightly apprehensive when the elevator gave a loud, creaky groan. Everyone looked at everyone else, and they came to some sort of silent agreement that, maybe, it was a good idea _not_ to add more people to the already filled box.

"Um, maybe some of you should get _out_ of the elevator. It looks like it's gonna collapse any minute now," Temari suggested, which was met with another silent agreement.

"Your brothers can get on the elevator and get to the bottom floor; Hin—_Hiashi_, Tenshi, Inoichi and I will get off and wait with you for the next ride down," Sakura offered the large group, and, without any confirmation from the rest, proceeded to get out of the Box of Doom along with her friends.

"It's cool, we can wait here with you guys," Kankurou said, waving a short goodbye to the rest of the elevator's occupants as the door slid closed before him. The group of girls and Temari's brothers stood in silence until they heard the elevator moving. Gaara pressed on the button for the elevator to return once more. There was a short, uncomfortable silence before Kankurou, in a serious voice, decided to break the ice.

"So, since they're all here, can we tell them now?"

"No. It's too soon. The headmistress told us _not_ to inform them about _that_ until just the right moment. Now is not that moment," Gaara responded, his face still staring stonily at where the elevator would arrive sooner or later. Temari blinked.

"Wait. You didn't even know we were coming, and you haven't left our room since we got here. _How_ in the _world_ did you get in contact with the headmistress?" Temari asked her youngest brother, who chose not to look at her, and, wisely, chose not to answer.

"You shouldn't worry about that. Not yet, at least. Just chill, it'll be explained eventually," Kankurou interjected, grinning as he lost his seriousness. The four other girls, who were standing by and had heard the exchange, wondered exactly what it was they were going on about. Apparently, Temari didn't know either, so it wasn't just them.

"Uh, what exactly are you guys talking about?" Ino asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. Kankurou opened his mouth to respond, but Gaara beat him to it.

"It is none of your concern just yet. Don't question it any further." His cold voice sent chills down Ino's spine, and she wisely chose to keep further questions to herself. The elevator, which had arrived once more while they were conversing, dinged as it slid open once more, this time revealing only two other people, both of whom the girls didn't recognize. The first one had black hair, the back spiked in various directions and the front neat and framing his face slightly. He wore a short-sleeved button-up collar shirt with a pair of black pants and a plain belt with a silver belt buckle. Unlike his attire, his shoes were dirty beyond recognition, and the original white they had been in the recent past was now almost black. His cobalt eyes held almost no expression, and his face was a stony that could have rivaled Gaara's current face.

The other boy, on the other hand, was almost the complete opposite of the first one, his spiky blonde hair, blue school sweatband, and orange track suit causing him to stand out like a sore thumb next to his companion. His eyes were a shocking blue, his face had strange lines at the edges, and his mouth was slowly making its way into a large, face-splitting grin. His whole person radiated something akin to cheer, and his choices in clothing colors did nothing to mute it.

"Hiya, Gaara! Those your new friends?" The blonde boy asked, obstructing the elevator doors from closing by standing between the building's floor and the box they called an elevator. He gave Gaara a familiar pat on the shoulder and shot him some thousand watt smile, stretching the whisker-like markings on his cheeks back. Gaara peered over his shoulder for a second, deciding on the best way to word his answer. Gaara knew that with this one Naruto Uzumaki, any answer could lead to unpredictable circumstances. Most of those circumstances would have been rather bad, considering the fact that the four new ones, plus his sister, were all girls. He looked back at his cheerful friend.

"…You could say that."

"Ehh…" Naruto looked over Gaara's shoulder to look at the five students he didn't recognize. Quickly making up his mind, he dropped a quick word to his companion to hold the elevator door open as he marched around his red-headed friend towards the new students. His open hand shot out for a handshake, and his face sending them a blinding smile. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! You guys must be new, 'cause I've never seen any of you before. That moody looking guy over there is Sasuke," he said, pointing his thumb back at Sasuke while introducing him. Sasuke frowned.

"Naruto...what happened to my last name?" He didn't sound offended, but based on the question, he must have been.

"Tche! I don't need to introduce your last name! You _and_ your brother do that for _everyone_. Actually, _everyone_ talks about you guys with your last names. It's getting old, teme!" Sasuke just scoffed at him.

"I'm the one holding the elevator for you, idiot. And it's only natural to include the Uchiha surname; it's just _that_ important." Naruto pouted, but decided to stop arguing with him. At least, for the sake of the new students. Said new students looked on the conversation with interest and slight amusement. Sakura eagerly, but cautiously, brought her hand up to meet his in a firm handshake, one she didn't expect from the rather ditzy boy.

"I'm Saku Haruno. It's nice to meet you, Naruto! The gi—_guys _behind me are Hiashi Hyuuga, Tenshi, and Inoichi Yamanaka. We're new here, like you guessed," Sakura added at the end, looking sheepish. Temari made a disgruntled sound and coughed into her fist, causing Sakura to realize she had forgotten to mention her. "Oh! Sorry, and that's Temaru over there." Temari did a two-finger salute in his general direction, but was otherwise not too interested. Her focus was more on the dark looking boy standing by the elevator, analyzing them with his piercing cobalt eyes._ He's pretty hot_, she thought to herself, though she hadn't realized how odd that was until a moment later.

"Nice ta meet'cha, too! We're gonna be awesome friends!" Naruto shouted joyously. "Ya hear that, Sasuke? They're my new friends, so you better be civil to them! Or I'll beat your ass!"

"Hn." Naruto's frown deepened at him as he sent him a small glare and a pout. Sakura grinned at the kiddish high schooler, and considered going back to her assigned room. If she was going to be around someone this cheerful, it would lift her spirits. Sasuke, on the other hand…

"He doesn't say much, does he?" Tenten asked, though she would mentally admit to herself that he didn't look all that bad. It was just too bad that he was probably socially inept…or a total jerkface.

"Yeah, the Sasuke-teme's dictionary doesn't have too many entries. It's five hundred pages of 'Hn'!" This got some of them chuckling at Sasuke's expense, who took one resounding step away from the elevator door into the compartment, jamming his finger on a button as he stared at them with little expression. The elevator doors suddenly rumbled as they swiftly slid closed, causing Naruto to panic.

"Oi, teme! Wait!" Naruto made a dash for the doors, but just as he was about to throw his hand between them to keep them from closing, they slammed together with a loud _bang_, causing Naruto's face to make the same sound as it reached a collision course with the doors. "That _bastard_…" He mumbled angrily to himself, rubbing his sore and slightly red nose. Hinata, who had some medical ointment in her pocket (she had forgotten to put it back into her backpack because she had used it on the way to the academy), ran up to him to offer it.

"A-are you okay? I h-have some ointment…i-if you need it…" Hinata shyly thrust her hand, holding the ointment, out to his slightly confused face. He looked at her oddly for a second before grabbing the small jar from her. He popped the lid and quickly lathered some of the ointment onto his sore nose, instantly feeling a sense of relief.

"Wow, that stuff's great! Thanks, err…Hiashi, right?" She nodded deftly. "You sure stutter a lot. You okay?"

"She's like that almost all the time, even to us," Ino said suddenly, not noticing her mistake. The others froze up, hoping that Naruto didn't catch the slip-up. He tilted his head and scratched it.

"She?" Apparently, her mistake did not go unnoticed. Sakura jumped to her rescue before any more mistakes could be made, and the whole situation became awkward.

"What Inoichi meant was '_he_'! It's just that, with Hiashi being so shy and stutter-y all the time, we've gotten to calling he—_him_, 'she' instead of 'he'! Heh…"

"Oh! I get'cha! I guess you're right, you _do_ look kinda like a girl…" Naruto looked Hinata over, nodding his head when he confirmed it. "Hiashi doesn't really fit you, but whatever!" They all inwardly sighed in relief, glad that he was so oblivious. The elevator suddenly slid open once more from behind them, revealing a deathly pale boy with pitch black hair, and the eyes to match. At some point during all of the commotion, Gaara had taken the liberty of trying once more for the elevator, hoping against hope that they would actually get to the first floor to collect their schedules. It wasn't that he wanted to sleep—he never did anyway—but it was better than standing in the middle of a hallway like idiots. He stepped into the elevator, and the others followed suit. The pale boy in the corner of the box stared at them openly, causing discomfort all around.

"Saii~! It's rude to stare!" Naruto said to the mysterious boy, whose name was Sai. The boy looked only slightly taken aback, but recovered with a plastic smile that sent chills down the girls' spines.

"My apologies, Naruto-kun. I'll remember that next time." Sai turned back to facing the button panel on the side of the elevator, ignoring the rest of them completely. _He isn't even going to ask about us?_ was running through the girl's minds as they took subtle glances towards the boy with the chilling smile. The elevator rumbled down the floors, reaching the first floor a lot quicker than their ride up to the dorm floors. They allowed Sai to exit first, an opportunity he accepted graciously, and filed out one by one to avoid getting stuck. Out in the lobby hallway, they saw only a few doors lining the walls—dorm rooms for the bottomfeeders—and then the building branched out into a large room complete with mailboxes for all of the dorm rooms and a few couches, spaced out to make it seem less empty. By the mailboxes, small clusters of boys stood around, tearing open their schedules and comparing with their friends.

"I dunno if you guys know, but the mailboxes have these locks on them, so nobody steals your mail and stuff. Did Tsunade-no-baachan give you the combination or the key to your mailboxes?" Naruto was met with many shakes of the head.

"Well, we have the key and the lock combo for our mailbox, so Temaru's fine," Kankurou answered, waving a small bronze key he had retrieved from his pocket.

"Shikamaru has our key, right Saku?" Ino asked, looking over at her. Sakura was about to confirm the statement, but Naruto made a disapproving sound.

"Eh, that lazy bum? He probably forgot the key AND the combo." Both girls grumbled, hoping that he actually remembered the key and the combo so they wouldn't need to make another trip. The first attempt at getting to the bottom floor from their room had taken three elevator calls (although technically, the whole reason it took so many was because the compartment was either full, or somebody was being an idiot and caused them to miss the elevator).

"Well, I'm sure my roomies have the key and the combo, so I think I'm okay," Tenten called as she walked towards the crowded mailboxes, wondering if her roommates had already gotten hers. Lee might've.

"Sh-Shino has my r-room's," Hinata added in, trying to spy said roommate from where she was standing. Considering the fact that he was probably the only person in the building that looked somewhat shady, it shouldn't have been _that_ difficult to find him. Naruto hummed at that.

"You're rooming with Shino?" Hinata nodded. "Ahh…he's a creepy guy. I don't really know that much about him! If you're with Shino, then you should be with Kiba, too. Be careful! That Kiba's a loudmouthed idiot!" Naruto warned, cautiously whipping his head from side to side to make sure that Kiba wasn't around to catch him. The remaining girls deadpanned, except Hinata, who was most likely too nice to deadpan, at the irony.

"I-I'll remember that…" Naruto grinned at them before leading them towards the mailboxes. Tenten had already found her dormmates and was currently ripping her letter open, Lee standing anxiously beside her to see what classes she had. Neji was standing a little ways off, drumming his finger at his side as he waited for them. Almost instantly, Hinata noticed her cousin, and by the same token, Neji sharply turned his head in her direction, noticing her as well. She attempted to shield her face by looking away, feinting in her search for her silent roommate as she took all of her opportunities to raise her hand up to block any views of her face. Neji was not fooled.

"Hinata-sama?" Hinata jumped, then turned to see her cousin towering over her. Fear set in as she surveyed the area around her, hoping that nobody had heard him use her real name. Neji clasped reassuring hands on her shoulders to calm her. "It's fine, there's nobody around listening." She relaxed only slightly. Ino and Sakura, as well as Temari, her siblings, and Naruto had gone off to find their own respective mailboxes, hoping to get back to their rooms and get at least a wink of sleep in before the start of classes. In the time she had panicked, Neji had found his way over and somehow moved her to a more private location in the lobby, away from the commotion.

"N-Neji-nii-san?"

"Hinata-sama, what in the world are you _doing_ here?" His voice was only slightly critical, but that was overcome by worry, some surprise, and—to Hinata's surprise—fear. She gasped a little. Her cousin had never allowed fear to find its way into his voice, _ever_.

"I-I…" Hinata braced herself. Neji knew of her situation, she knew, better than anyone else besides herself. If she explained exactly why she was there, she was sure he would understand. She would need to gather her courage and tell him without stuttering, to show him exactly how strongly she felt about doing this. "Neji-nii-san, I'm doing this b-because of Father." The look of evident surprise in Neji's face quickly died down as an overwhelming sense of worry and disapproval washed over him. A frown came over him.

"Hinata-sama, I understand how you must feel, but this is not the way to do it. This school…you shouldn't be here. It's much too dangerous." He let go of her and turned his back on her, not allowing her any time to refute whatever he was saying. "You and your friends need to leave _immediately_." Hinata knew that her cousin knew about the others now. He _must've_ noticed how Tenten wasn't a boy. Or perhaps he had seen them exit the elevator, and recognized her along with the other unfamiliar faces. Hinata found herself frowning. After all they had been through together, her cousin _still_ didn't believe in her?

"N-Neji-nii-san. I…I'm not leaving." Neji swiveled around to meet her gaze, noticing her obvious attempt at putting up resistance. His critical gaze met her own resilient one, and she tried her best not to falter. "I…I came here for an i-important reason. I will not leave without fulfilling it." They stared each other down, though Neji was inwardly astonished. She had hardly stuttered once, even under his eyes, and deep down, he could really grasp just how much she wanted to do this. But his mind told him not to allow her the privilege. Not if she discovered the _real_ reason he would not let her stay.

"I do not wish to discuss the matter any further. If you wish to stay, I cannot stop you." Hinata silently cheered at her victory. "However…I must warn you. Just because I am no longer arguing with you about this, that does _not_ mean I approve. This school…it holds a dark secret. I do not wish for you, and your friends, to be mixed in the middle of it. That is all." _Dark secret?_ Hinata thought to herself, a great feeling of doubt and foreboding coming over her, but she simply squashed all of it in favor of continuing on with her self-appointed mission. If fulfilling that mission required her to face this school and its secrets, then she would not quit.

"Th-thank you, Neji-nii-san." Neji just nodded, turning his back on her once more to go retrieve his two roommates. Just before walking away, he stopped.

"Also, Hinata-sama, I would like to see your schedule. If you are to be attending this school, then I will need to make sure you have solid protection in all of your classes. I would not be able to forgive myself if I allowed something to happen to you." Hinata had to smile at his worry. Although their relationship had begun rocky, Neji had been appointed her guardian at a very young age. He was the closest thing she could count as family, at least in the supportive department. They were blood-related, but distantly. Lost in her reverie, she had almost missed him begin talking again. "…I will also need to know your alias. It would not do if the ruffians in this school knew about your true self."

"Ah, I-I'm going as H-Hiashi Hyuuga," Hinata admitted quietly, not at all surprised when she heard a bitter laugh erupt from Neji's mouth. He walked away from her, his cold laugh the last thing she heard from him. She was about to go off and find Shino when she felt a strong grip on her shoulder, scaring her out of her wits.

"Hinata?" The girl's eyes widened. Based on the deep voice, it wasn't one of her friends, and her panic was keeping her mind from fully processing whether or not she recognized the voice. The only thing running through her head was that, whoever it was, they knew her real name, and this immediately put her on the defensive. She found herself unable to pull away from the firm grasp, and resolved to just turning her head slightly to catch a glimpse of her capturer. From her peripheral, she noticed the familiar green hood and glinting sunglasses.

"Sh-Shino-kun! Y-you scared me…" She placed a hand over her heart, feeling the erratic beating as she let out a sigh of relief. From what she could tell, Shino had raised his eyebrow.

"Is that your real name?" Unconsciously, the girl nodded.

"H-how did you know?"

"I was nearby when you were talking to Neji." Hinata looked shocked. He had been there? How had neither of them noticed his presence? Suddenly, she felt a wave of guilt wash over her at having not noticed him. Did he feel bad? Offended? She had never ignored someone's presence before, especially since most people liked to ignore her own.

"O-oh. I'm s-sorry, I-I didn't notice," she replied guiltily. She felt bad, but she would need to be honest. Maybe he would forgive her on the off chance that it didn't bother him. It sure didn't _look _like he had been perturbed at all, but then again, he didn't really express all that much to begin with. He only shrugged noncommittally.

"It is a nice name." Hinata's head shot up to look at his face. It took her a split second to realize what he was referring to, and it made her blush.

"Th-thank you. D-did you g-get your schedule…?" Immediately following her question, Shino produced two envelopes from his jacket pocket, handing her one of them. He said nothing, but she could assume the obvious that this was hers. Sending him a silent thanks, she gently and neatly tore open the letter. From it, she found a half sheet of paper with her classes lined up neatly in chronological order. Scanning over it, she tried to memorize the teachers and room numbers. As she was glancing over the paper, she felt a hardened, and somewhat curious, stare directed at her, and found it to belong to her stoic roommate. Giggling slightly, she moved closer to him and tilted the paper so he could see what was on it as well.

"History with Asuma, Literature and Composition with Jiraiya, AP Biology with Shibi, Pre-Calculus with Kurenai, PE with Gai, and Free Period with Kakashi," Hinata ticked off, reading through the schedule. Shino glanced at her.

"You did not stutter." Startled out of her reading, Hinata only flushed and twiddled her free fingers.

"Wh-when I r-read, I d-don't stutter." He said nothing, only nodded, and filed this information away for later. He quietly ripped open his own envelope to show the slightly anxious girl beside him. Handing it over to her, she took this as being given the honor of reading it out loud. "AP Biology with Shibi, History with Asuma, Free Period with Kakashi, Literature and Composition with Jiraiya, PE with Gai, and Calculus AB with Yamato. W-we share one c-class together." Her companion simply nodded, and silently notified her of her friends, all of whom were making their way towards her with their own schedules. Neji was among their group, trailing behind them. She handed him back his schedule, which he pocketed.

"Hey Hiashi, what's your schedule like?" Temari called, waving her own above her head. Even from afar, Hinata noticed Neji flinch at her alias. The group of girls found themselves at Hinata's location, and they all held out their schedules so that they could all see them at the same time.

"Hmm…you have History, Lit and Comp, AP Bio, Pre-Calc, PE, and Free. I got History, Lit and Comp, Stats, Physics, PE, and Free. Guess I get to share four periods with you, huh?" Tenten said, grinning. Hinata sent her a shy smile of her own.

"Hey, I got AP Physics, History, Calc, Lit and Comp, PE, and Free. I'm only sharing two classes with you," Sakura said, though she pouted slightly. She wouldn't really get to see Hinata until the final periods of the day, and lunch hadn't been specified on their schedules. Ino groaned from her corner of their mini-shape.

"I only got PE with you guys. I get Algebra II first, then English III, History, Free, PE, and Physics. Man, that sucks!"

"I don't really share anything with you guys except PE and Free, since I'm in an upper class. I've got AP Chem, Calc, AP History, English IV, PE, and Free, but I've got Free with a different teach," Temari said. The girls all sighed, a bit saddened by the fact that they'd be separated for most of the day. Neji, having mentally recorded down Hinata's schedule, produced his own from his pocket and handed it to her. Comparing schedules, Hinata found that she only shared PE with him, just as she did with everyone else.

"It isn't a surprise that everyone has the same PE class. Gai-sensei only has one period of PE, and it encompasses the entire campus all at once," Neji explained, earning him some lightbulbs from the girls. He retrieved his schedule from Hinata, giving her one final look before turning to find Lee. Tenten decided to follow after him in favor of not getting locked out of their room later on. Temari left soon after, telling them that her brothers were waiting. One by one, they dispersed, and Shino and Hinata decided it would be smart to return back to their dorm as well.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Neji…" Tenten began, catching the boy's attention. He didn't turn to face her, but he was listening. Lee, too, was listening. "Exactly where am I supposed to sleep? Your room has Lee's futon and your bed, but that's about it."<p>

"You may use my futon!" Lee offered, smiling and giving her a nice guy pose. Tenten sent him a small grin back. He had no fashion sense, but Tenten had to admit that his attitude was rather endearing.

"It's okay, Lee. Do you guys have an extra futon somewhere?"

"No, we don't. You may use the bed for now, I may not need it tonight," Neji stated, and Tenten could hear Lee gasp beside her. He looked absolutely appalled.

"Neji! Do not tell me…that you are…! THAT IS WHOLLY UNYOUTHFUL!" Neji gritted his teeth at Lee's loud exclamation. Luckily, they were in the abandoned hallway of their own floor. Unluckily, if someone woke up, they'd be storming their door. Neji resorted to thinking happy thoughts…if he could think of any. Lee toning down might have been one of them.

"That's a dirty thought, Lee," Tenten reprimanded. She was against the idea of Neji doing _anything_ of that nature in the same room as her, although she didn't think he'd be the type to do that anyway. Lee was still slightly flabbergasted at the thought, and it took some more reassuring from both of his roommates to calm him down.

"That is not what I meant. I will be up thinking about something tonight, so chances are I won't be sleeping. Later today, we will figure out the sleeping arrangements more comfortably." Lee and Tenten agreed with his reasoning, and they got into the makeshift sleeping arrangements once they entered the room.

_Hinata-sama better know what she's doing…_

* * *

><p>"So…how're we gonna sleep in a room with practically no furniture?" Ino asked, the sleeping arrangements for their room only starting to become apparent to her. Shikamaru and Sakura both turned to her, both aware of this.<p>

"Well, I think I'll be joining my former roommates tonight. They don't seem like such bad people, and that Sasuke guy's not that bad looking," Sakura admitted. Ino did a miniature squealing fit at the mention of Sasuke, startling both of her companions.

"Not bad looking? He's _hot_." Ino went off on a long fangirlish rant as Sakura tried to make sense of what she was saying. Shikamaru only sighed. Leave it to his own bad luck to be stuck with a raging fangirl.

"You two, we haven't figured out how we're going to be staying in the same room yet."

"How about we split the bunk bed?" Ino suggested, recovering from her fangirling moment. "You know, I can take the top bunk, you take the bottom bunk, and the other guy can share with you." Shikamaru stared at her, though his expression left no impact as he was much too lazy.

"That's ridiculous…and very troublesome in more ways than one. You can take the top bunk, Chouji can have the bottom bunk, and I'll take the couch. Sound fair?" Thinking it over, Ino finally agreed, finding the arrangements reasonable enough. Then, something occurred to her.

"Do you really need to include 'troublesome' somewhere in all of your sentences?" He shrugged noncommittally.

"No. That'd be too troublesome also." Ino let out a loud groan as Sakura giggled, bidding them farewell as she hopped back into the elevator to reach the seventh floor.

* * *

><p>"So, Kanky, Gaara. Where will I be sleeping anyway?" Kankurou and Gaara both turned to her, one with a sour look from his nickname, the other expressionless.<p>

"I dunno, you could probably sleep on the laundry. It's definitely cushion-y enough," Kankurou suggested offhandedly, causing both of his siblings to glare at him. "What?"

"Don't be an idiot. I'd rather sleep outside than on your dirty clothes. God knows where _you've_ been," Temari huffed. Even Gaara had to inwardly shiver at the idea of where Kankurou's clothes might have been. Kankurou pouted.

"That's not cool. I'm not _that_ bad, am I?" He was met with eerie silence from both of his siblings. "…You guys suck."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. But still, how are we doing this? I mean, do you guys have beds in there? I wasn't really paying attention."

"Kankurou and I each have a single bed," Gaara responded, his room key twisting along with the doorknob. Temari grinned. Kankurou began to open his mouth, but…

"I call Kanky's bed!"

"Damn it!"

* * *

><p>Shino and Hinata returned to their room to find Kiba still sound asleep, his soft snoring from before turning into a full blown snoring fest. Akamaru was lying beside the bed, also asleep, but twitched slightly when the other two dorm dwellers entered. Shino made his way over to the bed, peeling off his jacket so he could sleep comfortably. He noticed that Hinata hadn't moved from her spot, and turned to face her. She noticed his staring, and just twiddled her fingers.<p>

"Um…if I t-take off my h-hat, Kiba-kun w-will notice that I-I'm not a boy…" Shino said nothing for a moment, only removing his own school hat to reveal his dark brown hair. He laid it down on the desk on top of his neatly folded jacket.

"Kiba is not an early riser. If you wake before him, he will not find out." Hinata nodded, and hoped that she would wake up early enough to avoid being found out by her wilder roommate. She figured that having both of her roommates know about her wouldn't be bad since she would be able to remove her disguise within the room, but based on his personality, she couldn't predict whether or not it would end well for her. She removed her own baseball cap, but was hesitant in removing her baggy jacket. Her only awake roommate noticed her discomfort and simply faced away from her as he laid down on his end of the bed. He had removed his sunglasses, but he kept both of his eyes firmly shut. With a few rustles from her large clothing, she removed her disguise and found her own spot on the same bed, but on the farthest end of the opposite side of the barrier. Trying to ease her mind and her heart at the idea of sharing the same bed with someone of the opposite sex, even if there was a barrier, she closed her eyes and hoped for sleep.

* * *

><p>"Eh? Saku? What're you doin' here?" Naruto said groggily, rubbing his eyes. Sakura guessed that he had been sleeping. Glancing inside of the room, she noticed that Sasuke was also sleeping, but he had not awoken from her sudden intrusion. That, or he was awake, but he chose not to respond.<p>

"Well, I'm supposed to be your new roommate." Almost instantly, the boy's eyes and voice lost all traces of sleepiness, and he dragged Sakura roughly by the arm into the room. He was now grinning from ear to ear, sleep forgotten.

"That's awesome! You'll be a _much_ better roommate than that conceited bastard over there!" Naruto sent a look at the Uchiha's sleeping form, gaining no response. With lightning speed, Naruto cleared the floor of some dirty laundry and hauled a small, deflated airbed from the closet. In a few gasps of breath, he managed to inflate the bed to a reasonable size. "You can sleep here. When we got this room, that airbed was already in there, so we get to use it now!" Sakura had to smile back at the one greeting her.

"Thanks Naruto. Sorry to wake you, by the way." Naruto patted her on the shoulder in reassurance.

"Aw, it's cool! I can just go back to sleep, so you can go ahead. We'll compare schedules tomorrow, 'kay?" With a final nod from Sakura, Naruto flopped back onto his bed, closed his eyes, and began snoring almost right away. Sakura sighed, removing parts of her disguise so she could sleep more comfortably. She would need to get up before both of them in order to not raise any suspicions.

* * *

><p>The next morning had Sakura hurriedly getting dressed, having woken up later than she had been hoping for. The academy building was only a short walk away from the dorm building—they <em>were<em> on the same campus—but she had hoped that she would be able to wake up at least an hour early, just to make sure nobody else caught her in the middle. She found herself waking up only fifteen minutes earlier than the time she expected the others to be up, and was using every ounce of her luck to wish for both of them to sleep in. Luckily, she didn't need to change out in the open, as there was a bathroom connected to the room. Her usual shower time was cut down to about a tenth of the time she normally took, and she still looked as though she had just jumped out of bed in her school clothes. It didn't matter, as long as she hid her feminine features, nobody would catch her. She inspected herself one more time in the mirror, making sure everything was in place, just as she heard a loud yawn erupt from the bedroom, followed by several muscle cracks.

"G'morning, Sasuke…," a voice mumbled from behind the bathroom door, one that Sakura could easily identify, and assume, to be Naruto's. "Saku, you in there?" Sakura smoothed out her outfit and pulled the doorknob to reveal a very disheveled looking Naruto.

"Yeah, I'm just about finished. Good morning, by the way," Sakura said as she passed him on her way out. He murmured a similar greeting before loudly slamming the bathroom door behind him, running the sink just as the door clicked. Sakura, sure that she had everything settled for the day, waited patiently on her makeshift bed, which she had already tidied up when she had awoken. Sasuke sat quietly on his bed, his clothes for the day already laid out and ready to be worn after a nice hot shower—granted there was still hot water left—and a good teeth scrubbing. Only then did Sakura notice that his sleeping attire consisted of nothing but a pair of dark blue boxers and a worn out T-shirt. She blushed and looked in another direction, her unfamiliarity with the live male anatomy being exposed to her to blame. She could only wonder how well the others were faring. Beside her, Sasuke yawned widely, his face scrunching up somewhat daintily. _Like a princess_, Sakura thought to herself, giggling. Her inner thoughts were interrupted when the bathroom door slammed open twice as loudly as it had been before, an energetic blonde emerging from the steam.

"Hurry up, teme! We're gonna be late! You always take the longest time to get ready!"

"Hn." Sasuke got off of his bed and strode across the room towards the now steamy bathroom area, closing the door behind him and running the shower. Naruto joined Sakura on her airbed and tossed her his schedule.

"What'cha have first, Saku? I have History with Asuma first!" Sakura glanced at her own schedule, all the while trying to keep it memorized so she wouldn't need to consult it all day long.

"I have AP Physics first with Izumo." Naruto gaped beside her.

"AP Physics? Wow, you're smart! What about second?"

"Well, since you already have History first, you aren't going to have History again with me in second period. I have Calculus AB with Yamato in third period, then Literature and Composition with Jiraiya fourth." Naruto frowned.

"Aww, why'd you have to be so smart? I don't share anything with you until the end of the day! We can spend lunch together, though!" Sakura sent him a questioning look, unsure of when lunch was supposed to occur. "It's not on the schedule, but lunch is right before PE, which is fifth period for everyone this year." Understanding crossed Sakura's face, and she took a gander at the rest of Naruto's schedule, wondering if he shared it with anybody else. After History, he had AP Biology, then English III, followed by Algebra II. PE and Free Period were a given at that point. She couldn't quite remember the others' schedules, so she would just ask later, when they all met for lunch.

"Man, what is taking that Sasuke so damn long?" Naruto yelled, his frustration apparent. Sakura, too, was getting a bit restless with how long the boy was taking, something she hadn't really expected. She was used to learning that boys took the least amount of time on these types of things, unlike girls. Naruto's pacing was soon joined by a short rant on the injustices of taking so damn long in the bathroom right before school began, which was interrupted when the bathroom door flew open to reveal a prim and proper looking Uchiha Sasuke, ready to take on the world in all of his dark glory.

"About damn time! Let's go!" Before anybody could do anything, Naruto grabbed them both by the arm and practically dragged them out of the room to a now more crowded hallway. The empty hallway from the night before was now teeming with other students, all of whom didn't really pay attention to Naruto and his friends. Jamming his finger on the elevator call button, Naruto tapped his fingers impatiently on his arm, grumbling about how slow the elevator was being. Sakura had to wonder how the boy was so excited for school.

"Naruto, I didn't know you were the type who liked school," Sakura commented, earning her a lopsided look from Naruto. Sasuke scoffed.

"He doesn't. He's one of the worst students in this school." Now it was Sakura's turn to give an odd look.

"Then why're you in such a hurry?"

"'Cause we're ditching school today to go to that camp across the lake! Aren't you excited, too, Saku? Don't tell me nobody told'ja about it!" Sakura had to laugh at herself for even _thinking_ that this boy liked school. She guessed that tomorrow, Naruto would be begging them to give him a few more minutes in bed so he wouldn't need to go.

"No, Kiba told me about it yesterday. I guess I forgot." Naruto gasped, appalled as he opened his mouth to begin talking. However, the elevator beat him to it, and the doors opened to reveal a mildly full compartment, one that would have a large chance of making it safely to the first floor. Sasuke and Sakura found themselves being pulled into the elevator, Naruto's fingers finding solace in crushing the button for the lobby. It took both Sasuke and Sakura to keep him from destroying it completely in his excitement. The ride down was agonizingly slow for Naruto, and he grew antsy. Several times, the people in the elevator had to calm him down or threaten him to keep to himself. When the elevator finally _did_ reach its destination, the blonde boy practically bounded out of the box, jumping around as if he were high on sugar.

"This is gonna _awesome_! We're all sneaking out at the first passing period, and we're gonna meet up near the water fountain. You know where that is, right Saku?" Naruto turned to the girl, who scratched her check nervously and nodded.

"Is it alright if I don't go? I mean, I kinda wanna be there for class and everything…" Naruto looked even more aghast than before, taking a step back away from her.

"You—you're _actually_ gonna skip _this_ for _school_? Are you _crazy?_ This is the _only_ chance we have to get over there, and you wanna _skip_ it?" Sakura shrugged.

"Well, I just think that we should be there for our teachers, you know? They _did_ go out of their way to teach all of us, the least we could do is be in class…" Naruto pfft'd at her, waving his hand dismissively.

"Tche, the teachers already know about this tradition. They don't care. After first period, they all go to the teacher's lounge and just hang out. They pretend to be angry at us the next day, but they're really not." Sakura thought about it. She truly _didn't_ want to miss school, but if all of the teachers weren't going to be there anyway, then…

"Well…I guess I could join you guys." The hyperactive blonde boy jumped for joy as he captured Sakura in a death hug, squeezing the life out of her poor soul.

"I _knew_ you'd see it my way! Don't worry, you'll have an awesome time there! And you might even get lucky, if ya know what I mean…" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, causing Sakura to lightly push him out of her personal bubble. At that moment, both noticed the absence or their broodier roommate, who had not uttered a single "hn" since they'd gotten off the elevator. Both peered around them, looking out for the boy's haircut—it was quite unique, nobody else could capture such an exquisite chicken's butt, Naruto had told her—which was nowhere to be seen.

"That teme! He left without us! Let's GO!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, I'm sorry for the abrupt end. I guess the ending was mostly to make up for the lack of Naruto and Sasuke in the first four chapters, but it got things moving…I hope. Next chapter will be about them attending, and then ditching, school. This chapter honestly wasn't that much longer than the others, only by about a thousand or so words. Anyway, until next time!**


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